Ifoui^Peoples Story 
■of Massachusetts- 

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YOUNG PEOPLE'S STORY 
OF MASSACHUSETTS 




iTHAf 



The burly savages seized them, tied their hands behind 
them, and hurried them away (Page 96 ) 



YOUNG PEOPLE'S STORY 
OF MASSACHUSETTS 



BY 

HERSCHEL WILLIAMS 

Author of " Fairy Tales from Folk Lore," etc. 



Illustfations by 
E. F. WARD 




NEW YORK 

DODr>, MEAD AND COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 



ru^^ 



COPTRIGHT, 1916, BT 

DODD, MEAD ANb COMPANY, Ikc. 




OCT -3 1916 



U4379C'4 



^o 



DEDICATED 
TO MY YOUNG FRIEND 

HORACE PERKINS 





CONTENTS 




CEUTXR 




FAOB 


I 


The Beginning of the Play 


1 


II 


Leyden and the Mayflower 


9 


III 


Good Old Plymouth . 


. 14 


IV 


Tests of New England Coue 


- 




AGE 


. 18 


V 


The Puritans at Home . 


. 24 


VI 


Plymouth Begins to Have 




Neighbors 


. 31 


VII 


The Multiplication of Towns 40 


vin 


Massachusetts Colony . 


. 46 


IX 


In the Days of Sir Harry 




Vane 


. 52 


X 


Lucy Downing Paves the Way 




FOR Harvard Cot,tf,ge . 


. 59 


XT 


Persecution of the Quakers 


. 64 


xn 


King Philip's War . 


. 70 


xni 


How Massachusetts Enter 






tained the First Royal Gov 






ERNOR .... 


. 78 


XTV 


Sir William Phtps . 


. 83 


XV 


Witchcraft .... 


. 88 


XVI 


French and Indian Wae . 


94 


XVII 


LOUISBURG .... 


103 


XVIII 


The Stamp Act . 


110 


XIX 


Boston Massacre 


116 


XX 


Boston Tea Party . 
vii 


122 



CHAPTER 

XXI 


Threatening Clouds 


PAGB 

128 


XXII 


Paul Revere 's Ride . 


134 


XXIII 


Lexington and Concord . 


143 


XXIV 


Birth of the American Army 


152 


XXV 


Bunker Hill .... 


158 


XXVI 


The Siege of Boston. 


165 


XXVII 


The Evacuation of Boston 


172 


XXVIII 


Benjamin Franklin . 


177 


XXIX 


A Famous Tory and an Hon- 






ored Whig .... 


183 


XXX 


Shays' Rebellion 


188 


XXXI 


Three Remarkable States- 






men 


194 


XXXII 


Various Types of Massachu- 






setts Men .... 


199 


XXXTII 


Patriots of the Nineteenth 






Century 


206 


XXXIV 


The Telegraph, the Tele- 






phone, AND THE Cable . 


214 


XXXV 


Inventors and Pioneers . 


223 


XXXVI 


Irish Citizens . . 


232 


XXXVII 


Distinguished Authors . 


239 


XXXVIII 


More About the Hub 

List of Nineteenth Century 


253 




Celebrities .... 


262 




Notes 


269 




Index to ''Young People's 






Story of Massachusetts" . 


281 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

The burly savages seized them, tied their 
hands behind them, and hurried them 
away (Page 96) . . . . Frontispiece 

Pretty Mary Chilton, said to have been the ""^^m 
first of the Puritans to place her foot on 
Plymouth Rock (Page 16) ... 36 

**Why — why don't you speak for yourself, 

John?" (Page 28) 84 

Should some poor old lady live quietly by 
herself, her neighbors would begin imme- 
diately to say that she must be a witch 
(Page 89) 118 

This brave young girl remained unalarmed 
until a bullet whizzed past her and 
Madame Hancock (Page 141) . . . 164 

*'So through the night rode Paul Revere; 
And so through the night went his cry of 
alarm" (Page 142) 202 

Fifty cannons which he and his helpers had 
brought safely on sleds across the snow 
and ice (Page 167) ..... 248 



MASSACHUSETTS STATE SONG 
(Tune: Lorelei) 

"We sing a fond tribute of reverence 

To Massachusetts brave, 
The land of esteemed Pilgrim Fathers, 

Whom patriots struggled to save. 
When angry foes threatened thy children, 

And thy hill-sides were spattered with gore, 
The voice of a firm conscience guided, 

Like beacon-lights guarding thy shore. 

We love all thy comely dominion, 

The Berkshires, thy rivers and bays ; 
Thou Cradle of Liberty, blessed. 

Who brightens our land with her rays. 
When tyranny threatens our nation. 

Thou standest, full-armed, to defend; 
May purpose and godly endeavor 

Inspire thee to the end. 

O, home of broad thought and free action, 

Where Knowledge is fostered and prized; 
Thou leader of infinite projects, 

Thy merits can not be despised. 
We pray that, in uncertain future, 

In moments triumphant or grave, 
Forever entwined with the Stars and Stripes, 

The Bay State flag may wave. 

— ^Herschel Williams 



YOUNG PEOPLE'S STORY 
OF MASSACHUSETTS 



YOUNG PEOPLE'S STORY 
OF MASSACHUSETTS 

CHAPTER I 

THE BEGINNING OF THE PLAY 

Welcome, American boys and girls 1 The curtain 
is about to rise on the greatest play ever staged 
on American soil — a drama to be acted by the 
sons and daughters of the Old Bay State. Indeed, 
no corner of the Union offers a more attractive 
setting for a play than Massachusetts, with her 
rocky ledges to the east guarding broad blue bays 
and noble ports ; ^ her green hills and valleys to the 
west ; and, everyivhere, clear sparkling rivers and 
woodland brooks. 

You shall see the quaint Pilgrims bravely toil- 
ing in the wilderness, savage Indians in war paint 
plotting to destroy them, cavaliers in scarlet coats, 
Tory ladies with powdered hair and dainty fur- 
belows, Quakers in gray striving to spread their 
religion, and colonial soldiers willing to give their 
lives to defend our country. 



2 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

At times, you will gaze in horror upon scenes 
more thrilling than any you have watched at a 
moving-picture show ; but you must remember that 
the Old Bay State was forced to fight her way 
through pools of blood to the serene height she 
holds to-day. 

Now the curtain is rising, and I will explain as 
briefly as possible the history of each leading 
character and event, that you may be sure to know 
all about the play, and remember the things that 
please you most. 

You see a wide bay, across which a clumsy craft 
is sailing, filled with big, fair men with long yellow 
hair and strong, active bodies ; but some of you do 
not know that the biggest and fairest and strong- 
est of them is Lief Ericson, son of Eric the 
Red, the famous Northman who colonized Green- 
land.^ 

Although Eric was a mighty conqueror. Lief 
was a greater man; for he spread the Christian 
religion, and by his kind and just methods won so 
many victories that his followers called him **Lief 
the Lucky. ' ' Being an explorer and a sailor. Lief 
kept going from one place to another, trying to 
discover new countries, until, by chance, he came 
to the eastern coast of North America. Cruising 
along its border, he made friends with the Indians, 



THE BEGINNING OF THE PLAY 3 

and, finally, reached the beautiful shore of what 
was, later, called Massachusetts. The bay now 
known as Boston harbor, one of the finest har- 
bors in the world, attracted his attention, and he 
sailed across, past wooded islands, and into the 
Charles river as far as the present site of Water- 
town. 

Lief the Lucky was not so great a colonizer as 
his father, Eric the Red, and although he admired 
the fine country, ate wild grapes, and wrote his 
name on rocks and pieces of armor, he did noth- 
ing of lasting benefit for the state of Massachu- 
setts. In truth, when the severe winter weather 
set in, he was glad to return home. Possibly, he 
told his kinsmen that there was another country 
in the world as cold as Greenland. 

However, Lief's younger brother Thorwald, 
who was, also, a daring sailor, discovered another 
famous bay, not long afterwards. Thrilled with 
delight, he exclaimed; — 

''I should like to live in this part of the world, 
for it is, indeed, beautiful!" 

Hardly had he prepared to settle when a num- 
ber of wild Indians attacked the Northmen from 
all directions. A fierce fight followed, in which 
several men on both sides were killed j but the 



4 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

hardy fighters from the Northland were victori- 
ous. They were about to celebrate with prayers 
and rejoicing when another band of savages crept 
from their canoes and pounced upon them. A 
more desperate battle followed, and Thorwald, the 
brave white leader, fell to the ground, wounded 
and dying. 

*'Let me take my last breath on that little neck 
of land reaching into the sea," he gasped, as his 
comrades were trying to revive him. ''When I 
am dead, place a cross at my head and another at 
my feet." 

His followers hastily obeyed his last command; 
and before the savages could return in larger 
numbers, they had set sail for a more peaceful 
land. 

Whoever visits Massachusetts soon becomes 
familiar with the name of Cabot. The first of this 
illustrious family to reach the New World was 
John Cabot, a Genoese sailor sent out by King 
Henry VII to secure the spice trade for England.^ 
After braving the Atlantic — which the supersti- 
tious people of that time thought was filled with 
giants and monsters, any one of which could crush 
a vessel as though it were an egg-shell — Cabot 
landed near the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and took 



THE BEGINNING OF THE PLAY 5 

possession of the territory in the name of the 
King. 

One of his three sons, Sebastian Cabot, who 
formerly had been in the service of King Ferdi- 
nand of Spain, came a year later to continue the 
work his father had begun.* He explored the coast 
of North America from Nova Scotia to North 
Carolina, including that of Massachusetts. Eng- 
land, much gratified, claimed all the land which 
the Cabots had discovered. 

The Cabots were followed by Bartholomew 
Gosnold,^ an English navigator, who was the first 
to sail straight across the Atlantic instead of 
making a long, roundabout trip. He commanded 
a vessel chartered by Sir Walter Raleigh, who 
had sent out this expedition to the New World in 
order to enrich both himself and his country. 

For a time, everything seemed to favor Gos- 
nold, for we are told that he found the islands to 
the south exceedingly fair — especially Nantucket, 
and Martha's Vineyard, which he named at sight. 
He began trading with the Indians, and stored his 
vessel with furs and sassafras. He, also, came 
into the great bay which Thorwald Ericson had 
discovered, where the crew nearly exhausted 
themselves catching fish of extraordinary size. 



6 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

**They are codfish," shouted Gosnold, in de- 
light, "so I shall call this land Cape Cod!" 

The name has been retained during the centu- 
ries that have passed, and the fish that abound 
there are just as big and numerous and delicious 
as they were in those early days. 

Gosnold explored the Cape Cod section, and, 
when he wished to rest, reveled in the odors of 
the honeysuckle and eglantine that graced the 
splendid forest. His men discovered the wild pea, 
a rich harvest of tansy, and many wild fruits to 
add to the scanty provisions they had on board. 

Soon, however, the Indians came with their 
shrill whoops and war clubs, and ended the happy 
sojourn of Gosnold, who was thankful to hasten 
back to sea. His description of the Cape Cod sec- 
tion attracted other traders and adventurers, and 
led to Nantucket becoming famous for her whales 
as well as for her furs and sassafras. 

Among other voyagers who came to make his 
fortune was Captain Martin Pring (or Prynne), 
sent out by some merchants from Bristol, Eng- 
land. Little is known about him except that he 
was very fat and extremely greedy, and that his 
dread of the Indians was an inducement for him 
to hurry back home. 



THE BEGINNING OF THE PLAY 7 

Chevalier de Monts came to this section to plant 
a French colony and be a great leader of men and 
affairs ; but he, too, soon tired of his undertaking.** 
He was closely connected with Champlain, the 
great discoverer, who stayed long enough to make 
a map of the coast of New England (as it is now 
called), and of Canada. Thus, the first map made 
of our country included the coast-line of future 
Massachusetts. 

A still more popular visitor came to America, 
about ten years after Champlain had left. He 
was Captain John Smith, whose life had been 
filled with strange and exciting events.^ He 
was one of the most daring adventurers un- 
der the rule of Queen Elizabeth, and he had suc- 
ceeded in interesting four London merchants in 
his scheme to secure vast trading opportuni- 
ties. 

He had already been in Virginia and, on his 
return, had reported that a still richer country lay 
far to the northward. What is more interesting, 
Captain Smith named that section New England, 
although, later, when his two trading-ships came 
in sight of this smiling land, he seems to have felt 
that the name he had given it was not sufficiently 
expressive. 



8 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

**This is truly Paradise!" he cried, enthusi- 
astically. ''Yes, it must be Paradise!" 

Captain Smith wrote the first account of New 
England, and composed many romantic stories 
concerning the wonderful new country ''that 
stretches away unto India." He, also, made some 
quaint maps, with the small knowledge he had 
gained; and, when he returned home, went about 
peddling them and praising New England. Not- 
withstanding his many opportunities, all Captain 
Smith seems to have secured was the title of 
*' Admiral of New England," which his friends, at 
that time, must have thought a pitiful joke. Like 
the adventurers who preceded him, he obtained 
nothing worth while for himself or his country. 



CHAPTER II 

LBYDEN AND THE MAYFLOWER 

Tossing about on the stormy ocean is a frail, 
patched ship that no sea-captain of to-day would 
take from port. It is the Mayflower, crowded with 
our anxious Pilgrim ancestors who know naught 
concerning the strange, wild New World for which 
they are bound except the charming tales of Cap- 
tain John Smith; but one needs something more 
assuring than stories to comfort him when he is 
in fear of danger. 

Why are these good people risking their lives in 
the rickety Mayflower? In the first place, they 
were driven from England by the narrow, tyran- 
nical King James I, the son of Mary, Queen of 
Scots. 

*'I will have but one religion in this country," 
he declared. **I will punish all people who do not 
think exactly as I do." 

Our Pilgrim Fathers, who had a very simple 
religion of their own, finally became alarmed. 
They were, also, insulted by being called ' ' Sepa- 

9 



10 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

ratists^' because they had left the Church of Eng- 
land, and ''Roundheads" because the men pre- 
ferred to clip their hair. Of all their nicknames 
they favored ''Puritan," as it meant that they 
were pure in thought and act, and strict in reli- 
gious matters. 

Some of these Puritans, as we continue to call 
them, had been holding secret meetings in a room 
of an old manor house owned by the Archbishop 
of York. William Brewster, who was employed 
by that gentleman, had invited the Puritans to 
meet with him each Sunday to worship in their 
own way, without prayer-books or any of the con- 
ventional things they disliked.^ 

The leaders of this faithful band were forced 
to flee to Holland — the loyal little country that 
receives all oppressed people who come to her for 
refuge; for they were threatened with fire and 
sword, and hot-tempered King James would grant 
them no protection. 

Some of them settled in the quaint old city of 
Leyden, on the Ehine river ; but quite a number of 
them were seized by officers of the English king 
before they could get aboard their vessel, and 
were put in prison. 

In Leyden, the Puritans displayed the thrift 
that has made their sons and daughters of to-day 



LEYDEN AND THE MAYFLOWER 11 

famous everywhere. Tliey bought a tract of land, 
built a score of neat cottages, and erected a church 
in the heart of a blooming garden. They became 
skilled hat-makers, lace-makers, tobacco-pipe- 
makers, wool-carders, twine-spinners, carpenters, 
and masons. 

The colony became prosperous under the leader- 
ship of such people as industrious John Carver 
and his bride, the polished Edward Winslow and 
his young wife, and Captain Miles Standish, who 
had formed a great friendship for William Brews- 
ter but would not join his church. Although they 
were treated with respect in Leyden, they were not 
satisfied with their new conditions. 

*'Our colony, which has sworn to stand together 
forever, is in a dangerous way," they said. **We 
are becoming like the Dutch — we are trying to 
talk as the Dutch — our children are being married 
to the Dutch. Let us go to some country where we 
can be alone and do entirely as we please. Let us 
keep alive our English and Puritan traditions." 

They talked it over in church and at home, and 
finally agreed that they would go to Virginia, 
which they had heard was a wonderful place. 
They had not enough money to charter a vessel, 
however, and they, also, learned that King James 
had given all the coast from Cape Fear, North 



12 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Carolina, as far as Long Island Sound, to what 
was known as the Virginia Company. 

**We will go, no matter what dangers we may 
meet," they declared. *'We will settle in the Val- 
ley of the Hudson. "What is more, we will organ- 
ize a company of our own ; and God is with us." 

They formed a stock company of seventy-five 
English merchants who fitted them out with two 
vessels, the Speedwell and the Mayflower. Each 
member of the company loaned fifty dollars, and 
the Puritans were to pay back the money as soon 
as they could settle and earn an income. 

The Speedwell took the Leyden colonists to Eng- 
land, where the Mayflower was awaiting them, 
crowded with other Puritans.^ There was a joyful 
meeting, and no one seemed worried at the thought 
of crossing a treacherous ocean to build a home in 
a wild land where he must toil for years to pay a 
heavy debt. Indeed, these plucky Puritans, find- 
ing that not enough money had been raised to pay 
their passage, sold some of their provisions, cloth, 
and muskets to pay the amount that was due — and 
then away they sailed ! 

The Speedwell, which was even more rickety 
than the Mayflower, soon began to toss and groan 
in a manner that frightened the Captain. He de- 
clared it unfit for the voyage. Those who wished 



LEYDEN AND THE MAYFLOWER 13 

to board the Mayflower — ^which included all the 
leaders from Leyden — were permitted to do so, 
and the Speedwell staggered back to England. 

So that little, frail, overloaded vessel on the 
wild ocean, to which I called your attention, was 
the Mayflower — bounding, it knew not whither; 
but landing, by chance, in Cape Cod Bay.^ 



CHAPTER in 



GOOD OLD PLYMOUTH 



Befobe landing, the Puritans, or Pilgrims, signed 
a paper in which they faithfully promised to stand 
by one another, and to defend their colony to the 
end.^ John Carver was appointed governor, and 
the first simple laws of New England were made. 

The little colony began to grow before they had 
set foot on American soil, for a child was born in 
mid-ocean, whom they named Oceanus ; and, while 
waiting in Cape Cod Bay, Peregrine White came 
to gladden their hearts — the first white child born 
in New England.^ 

The Puritans, at first, were disappointed that 
they had drifted out of their course and were far 
from the Hudson river, where they had hoped to 
build their homes ; but they were quite accustomed 
to having their plans go wrong, and never flinched 
in their purpose. 

To make it more trying, the rough men of the 
crew said that if they did not land soon, they 
would force them ashore and take the vessel back 

14 



GOOD OLD PLYMOUTH 15 

to England. So Captain Miles Standish, one of 
the most daring soldiers that ever lived, ordered 
over a dozen men in his party to help him explore 
the region. They jumped into a shallop, or light 
boat, and cruised along the coast of Cape Cod to 
find a suitable place for landing. 

They first set foot on American soil at a spot 
now called Provincetown, almost at the end of 
Cape Cod, where they found many Indian relics. 
These proved to them that the country once had 
been inhabited. On numerous graves, they found 
bowls of corn, which they took along with them for 
planting in the spring. Later, when they discov- 
ered that the corn belonged to Indians in that 
neighborhood, they gladly paid for it. 

The cold winds and blinding sleet of winter did 
not stop their cruise, for they knew that no time 
should be lost in choosing a place to pitch their 
camp. It was truly very different from the sunny 
land of green trees and wild grapes that John 
Smith had pictured, for the whole country was 
gloomy and covered with snow and ice. Neverthe- 
less, it was better than living in England under 
King James or having their children marry the 
Dutch. 

During the stormy night, they found scant shel- 
ter on Clark's Island, and next day reached the 



16 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

end of their journey in Plymouth Harbor.^ They 
landed on Plymouth Rock, and found a spring of 
excellent drinking-water, where they quenched 
their thirst.* They decided that this place should 
be their home. 

If any of you boys and girls attended the 
Panama Exposition in San Francisco, you must 
have seen moving pictures representing the land- 
ing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. You were, per- 
haps, impressed with the women and children — 
especially with pretty Mary Chilton, said to have 
been the first of the Puritans to place her foot on 
Plymouth Rock. You, also, must have observed 
the fine horse that the welcoming Indian rode. 
Now, to tell the truth, there were no women and 
children in this party, for they were all back at 
Provincetown, washing clothes and getting ready 
to make their final landing ; and, at that time, there 
were no horses in New England. Moreover, not a 
solitary Indian turned out to welcome our Pilgrim 
Fathers. 

When the men had finished their tour of the 
place now occupied by the attractive town of 
Plymouth, they returned to make their report to 
those awaiting them on the Mayflower. "William 
Bradford was anxious to get back to his young 
wife, Dorothy, who— if we are to judge from a 



GOOD OLD PLYMOUTH 17 

large painting in the Plymouth Hall of Relics — 
was young, fair-haired, and beautiful. Little did 
he know of the sorrow that was to blight his life. 
His anxiety increased when he saw that his friends 
at Provincetown were almost overcome with grief 
instead of joyous at the return of the exploring 
party. 

**Alas! Dorothy Bradford is dead! She fell 
overboard and was drowned!" was the message 
that greeted him. 

"William Bradford did not waste time in useless 
mourning, for the ill-natured crew of the May- 
flower kept urging them to board the vessel, and 
threatening to leave them and sail back to Eng- 
land if they did not make haste ; so, after Dorothy 
Bradford's burial, the Pilgrims returned to the 
ship and slowly made their way to Plymouth. 

As soon as they had landed, a prayer of thanks- 
giving was offered to God, and a further appeal 
was made for His protection during their time of 
greatest uncertainty and hardship. The May- 
flower prepared to turn back and leave them alone, 
in the strange, frozen land of Plymouth. 



CHAPTER IV 

TESTS OF NEW ENGLAND COUEAGE 

On Christmas day, work was begun upon the set- 
tlement. The men, about forty in number, soon 
cleared a space for building. Some cut down the 
trees with their great axes, others prepared them 
for building, while the carpenters and masons 
planned and erected the houses. The sixty women 
and children assisted ably, even to little Mary 
Allerton, who in spite of early hardships lived to 
the good old age of ninety. Among the leaders in 
this busy enterprise were Thomas Williams, Ed- 
ward Doten, Richard Warren, John and Edward 
Tilley, Christopher Martin, Francis Eaton, 
Thomas Tinker, John Crackston, Thomas Rogers, 
John Turner, Richard Gardiner, Edward Lister, 
Moses Fletcher, George Soule, Degory Priest, 
John Goodman, Thomas English, John Billington, 
Edward Fuller, and Isaac Allerton. 

They were sensible in building first a '* common 
house,'* big enough to shelter them all — a shanty 
twenty feet square, with oiled-paper windows. 
18 



NEW ENGLAND COURAGE 19 

Then they built five houses for private dwell- 
ings. 

Now comes the saddest time in the history of 
these brave people who had risked their lives to 
found a righteous colony of their own. The voy- 
age across the waters not only had tortured them 
in soul and body, but scurvy, a loathsome disease, 
had attacked them. Then, the exposure that beset 
them while building their abodes led to general 
sickness ; and one by one the pilgrims died, until 
only half the number remained. 

The common house was used as a rude hospital, 
and the nurses were nearly as ill as those who 
were dying all about them. To make the situation 
more terrible, this building was set on fire, and 
the sick inmates were rescued with great difficulty. 
They then knew that Indians were in the neigh- 
borhood, and another anxiety was added to the 
list. 

During their winter hardships, they became ac- 
quainted with Tisquantum, an Indian who seemed 
friendly. In fact, he made himself very useful, 
and won the good will of Edward Winslow and 
others ; but most of the women and children sus- 
pected him. Afterwards, they learned that 
*'Squanto," as many of them called him, had seen 
much of the world. He had been kidnapped by 



20 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

English sailors, and rescued by other seamen of 
the same race, who had sent him back to his home 
in the Plymouth country. 

Squanto told Captain Miles Standish all about 
his master, Massasoit, Chief of the Wampanoags, 
who lived not far distant. He said that he would 
do all in his power to have him treat the Pilgrims 
kindly. Some of the colonists, however, distrusted 
Squanto, and feared that Captain Standish, at any 
moment, might have to muster his soldiers to pre- 
vent a dreadful massacre. Exercising caution, 
they made no graves for their dead lest their ene- 
mies might know how small their colony had be- 
come. 

Such a frightful winter as it was to the poor 
Pilgrims ! By this time, they expected almost any 
calamity; but they were joyfully surprised, one 
day, to hear a voice with a strange accent call out 
in their own language: — 

** Welcome, Englishmen!'* 

It proved to be the voice of Samoset, a powerful 
subject of Chief Massasoit, come to give them a 
friendly greeting, three months after their land- 
ing. Squanto had kept his word in preserving 
peace. Moreover, he had taught them all about 
corn and how to plant it, had told them remarka- 
ble stories of the new country, and had explained 



NEW ENGLAND COURAGE 21 

various words and signs used by the Indians. 
Squanto was the first friend of the Pilgrims, and 
the best one. 

The first hospitable act the colony displayed was 
when they rushed to meet Samoset. He explained 
in poor English how all the native Indians of 
Plymouth had died of a plague, with the exception 
of Squanto, and said he would have the great Chief 
Massasoit make a treaty of peace with the new 
English colony. The poor stricken Pilgrims were 
so delighted that they gave Samoset a knife, a 
bracelet, and a ring, and invited him to visit them 
soon again. 

I In a few days, Massasoit, the chief of the Wam- 
panoags, came to call, with sixty braves, including 
Samoset. The children of the colony must have 
been frightened until their eyes rested upon 
Squanto, who was as pleased as a little boy to see 
the palefaces shaking hands with the members of 
his tribe. The Chief was sorry to know that the 
Pilgrims had spent such a miserable winter, and 
that Governor Carver and his wife, Mrs. Edward 
Winslow, and Rose, the wife of Captain Standish, 
were among the dead. Before he left, a treaty was 
made in which it was agreed that the Pilgrims and 
the Wampanoags were to be friends, and help one 
another to the best of their ability. 



22 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

The new governor, William Bradford, thought 
it a good thing to return the call of Chief Massa- 
soit as soon as the weather should become more 
favorable ; so Edward Winslow and Stephen Hop- 
kins were sent, with faithful Squanto as their 
guide. 

Winslow, who was the most learned man of the 
colony, and a gentleman to the tips of his fingers, 
left a letter which tells of his amusing visit to the 
land of the Wampanoags.^ He said they had a 
walk of forty miles, and were very hungry when 
they reached the end of their journey. Chief 
Massasoit welcomed them kindly, but told them 
that he was entirely out of food. He was child- 
ishly pleased with the presents Winslow brought 
him, especially a red cotton mat trimmed with 
lace, with which he at once adorned his head. 
Polite Mr. Winslow had to sleep on a board that 
night ; and until a very late hour, the Indians sang 
dreadful songs and yelled till they fell asleep. 
Who but a real gentleman could have kept his good 
nature ? 

In the morning, a few lazy braves went out and 
caught two small fish, which did not go far towards 
satisfying the hunger of forty people. At any 
rate, Winslow made a lifelong friend of Massasoit, 
and thus secured the safety of the Puritan colony. 



NEW ENGLAND COURAGE 23 

When he visited the Wampanoags next time, 
Massasoit gave him nourishing food and pro- 
nounced some queer charms over him, that evil 
might never come his way. 

Boys and girls, you must go to Cape Cod Bay 
as soon as you can, and visit the comfortable towns 
of Provincetown and Plymouth. If you do not 
care for history, you can eat codfish and bluefish 
and mackerel and clams and scallops and lob- 
sters and shrimps and oysters ; but if you do not 
like the best sea-food that the world produces, you 
can wade in the bogs and sand hills and pick cran- 
berries. 



CHAPTER V 



THE PUKITANS AT HOME 



Not long after the wretched first winter, Plymouth 
was a thriving Puritan colony. Although the 
Wampanoags minded their own affairs, other 
tribes of Indians began to make trouble. Their 
frequent attacks made peppery Miles Standish so 
angry that he would unsheath his Persian sword, 
and, followed by his brave soldiers, fight the red- 
skins until they were glad to sneak away. He was 
the first commissioned officer in the New World, 
and he felt that his high position was worth his 
many sacrifices. 

Once, Governor Bradford received a snake-skin 
stuffed with arrows. He knew that it was a threat, 
and that it had come from the unfriendly Narra- 
gansett Indians. 

**If they want to fight, we are ready, '^ he an- 
nounced with great coolness. 

Then he emptied the skin, filled it with gun- 
powder, and returned it to the enemy. Canonicus, 
the Narragansett chief, was prompt to apologize, 

24 



THE PURITANS AT HOME 25 

for he well knew that Captain Standish and his 
standing army were terrible in war. 

After the first harvest, the colonists prepared a 
feast, and invited Chief Massasoit and almost a 
hundred of his tribe to visit them. This was the 
first thanksgiving dinner served in America, and 
it lasted three days. You can imagine how the 
children must have suffered after eating all the 
wild turkey, venison, succotash, hasty pudding, 
and quince tarts they wanted. 

Each Puritan did all he could to make Plymouth 
as prosperous as Leyden. It is recorded that by 
shipping fish, beaver-skins, sassafras, clapboards, 
and other useful things, they soon paid their debt 
to the Company in England, and were ready to 
save money. Their promptness and willingness to 
meet this obligation should prove to all the world 
that the New England conscience began on Plym- 
outh Rock, and, like the Rock, has remained 
strong and steadfast. Well do the Pilgrims de- 
serve the handsome monument erected to their 
memory, even though it took twenty-five years to 
build it. 

As trading proved so profitable, many other im- 
migrants came to the new colony. Soon it was 
quite a little city, although not a gay one ; for the 
Puritfins were opposed to amusements that would 



26 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

cause much laughter. There was no card playing, 
nor dice throwing, nor dancing ; and there were no 
musical instruments. They led a very simple life, 
and each was called by his first name, unless he 
might be of aristocratic family. * * Good-man ' ' and 
*' Good- wife" were the terms they used most fre- 
quently. 

They began to build better houses, although 
most of them contained but one room. A fire-place 
was at one end, where meat was cooked on a 
slowly-turning spit, and herring was roasted in 
the hot ashes. For a time, bread was baked in a 
skillet placed on a bed of coals. There were no 
cushions nor draperies nor the thousand and one 
things the housekeeper of to-day requires; but 
plain wooden benches, settles, stools, a '' grand- 
father's arm-chair," and, perhaps, a homespun 
rug. 

As the town developed, much spinning and weav- 
ing and manufacturing of all kinds was done, and 
the Pilgrim Fathers were glad that they had 
learned such useful occupations while in Leyden. 
Many of the men knew how to make lace, and the 
women soon learned how to use it. 

You have all seen pictures of the Pilgrims going 
to church, where their crude hymns were the best 
music that the place afforded. The men would 



THE PURITANS AT HOME 27 

carry guns, and be on the constant lookout for 
savages. How odd they look in their high-crowned 
hats of black felt! They wore leather and calf- 
skin garments, long leather hose, and pewter but- 
tons on their coats, although some of them still 
used metal hooks, believing that buttons were a 
sinful vanity. It is said that some of the older 
men wore snake-skin garters, an Indian remedy 
for rheumatism. 

You can see the women in close-fitting gowns, 
which they themselves had dyed ; plain caps ; ker- 
chiefs about their necks ; and whittles, or double 
blankets, over their shoulders. 

The first wedding in New England was that of 
the young widower, Edward Winslow, who also 
enjoyed the honor of being a governor of Plym- 
outh. Whom do you think he married? None 
other than Mrs. Susanna White, the mother of 
little Peregrine, born at Provincetow^n. They had 
a grand wedding, for that time, and were con- 
gratulated by all the old Puritan families. 

Edward Winslow, called ' ' The Pioneer, ' ' wanted 
to keep up the glory of his old English family, 
which had descended from Walter de Wynslow, 
Gentleman-at-Arms to the Earl of Buckingham, in 
the fourteenth century; so he dressed himself in 



28 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

very fine clothes, and furnished his mansion as 
completely as possible.^ 

His second brother, John, married Mary Chil- 
ton, who many say was the first white woman to 
set foot on New England soil. The Pilgrims con- 
tinued to marry among themselves until it is small 
wonder that their descendants are puzzled over 
their ancestors. 

Finally, Captain Miles Standish grew tired of 
being a widower, and fell in love with Priscilla 
Mullens, a beautiful Mayflower girl. As his good 
wife, Rose, had been dead only three months, he 
was ashamed to propose to the girl, so sent John 
Alden. It is strange that Standish showed so little 
judgment in choosing his go-between, for it is said 
that Alden was young and handsome. Priscilla 
seems to have fallen in love with John the minute 
he began to grow red and stammer a proposal for 
Captain Standish. 

Blushing deeply, she gave a reply which will 
never be forgotten while there is romance in the 
American heart: — 

''Why— why don't you speak for yourself, 
John!" 

John did speak for himself, and Priscilla 's 
father was pleased that his daughter should marry 



THE PURITANS AT HOME 29 

such a sensible young cooper. As for Captain 
Standish, it is said that he raged for some time at 
poor John, and snubbed Priscilla whenever he met 
her. Then he got revenge by marrying his sister- 
in-law, Barbara, who was every whit as charming 
as Priscilla. 

You may be glad to know that Captain Standish 
and Priscilla Alden were united later, in a way, 
when his son Alexander grew up and married her 
daughter Sarah; and, so far as we know, all of 
them were happy ever af ter.^ 

Samuel Fuller was the first doctor in New Eng- 
land, as was Elder Brewster the first preacher; 
and to John Howland belongs the distinction of 
outliving all the other Mayflower Pilgrims. 

When Prosperity increases. Pride is sure to gain 
strength. Elder Brewster, the oldest Pilgrim of 
the Mayflower, was shocked to see many of his 
flock trying to follow the latest styles from old 
England. The simple white Holland house-apron 
had become a gorgeous thing fringed with gold, 
and young men were wearing jaunty green or 
scarlet caps. Masks were thought necessary for 
ladies, because of the severe climate; but these 
became so highly ornamental that they were for- 
bidden in the Colony of Plymouth. 



30 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Many jokes have been made at the expense of 
good Elder Brewster, who railed against the 
growing vanities of the age, and at the same time 
took kindly to wearing blue and violet coats and 
green waistcoats. 

Now that you have seen the Pilgrims happily 
settled in their new home, we shall pass on to the 
next scene, and learn some of the things they did. 



CHAPTER VI 

PLYMOUTH BEGINS TO HAVE NEIGHBORS 

During the first few years that followed the land- 
ing of the Pilgrims, vessel after vessel came to 
New England, filled with people who desired peace 
and prosperity. They proved to be wonderful col- 
onizers, and many of them moved from place to 
place, as certain of the Plymouth band were doing. 

Thomas Weston, a London merchant who had 
business dealings with the Puritans, decided that 
he would found a colony of his own that would be 
superior to the one at Plymouth. He, also, 
thought he would make a vast fortune and a great 
name for himself. So, two years after the May- 
flower had landed, he sent over sixty people to 
form a new community. 

They settled at Weymouth, close by, and were 
glad to receive the advice and even the protection 
of the Pljnnouth colonists before they had finished 
their adventure. Such people as they were ! They 
were not industrious ; and the Plymouth colonists, 
although polite to them, considered them coarse 
81 



32 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

and irreverent. We are told that the Weymouth 
settlers would accept favors of their new neigh- 
bors, then go home and make fun of their quaint 
sayings and strict rules of living. They did not 
know how to start a colony, and almost starved 
on their daily diet of clams. Finally, they began 
to rob the Indians, and treated them so badly that 
a fight followed. The redskins raided the settle- 
ment, hanged one of the men, and left with savage 
threats. Plymouth had to get Chief Massasoit to 
intercede for them or they would all have been 
hanged and scalped. It is said that Captain Stan- 
dish went to Weymouth and gave the new colonists 
a severe lecture, in which he threatened them with 
his standing army. This frightened the poor 
shiftless settlers worse than the Indian attack, and 
they were glad to return to England, much to the 
disgust of Thomas Weston. Weymouth became a 
prosperous town, however, when another band of 
colonists settled there, and enacted laws similar to 
those of Plymouth. 

Meanwhile, the members of the Puritan church 
in Dorchester, England, formed a plan to organize 
a company backed by rich London merchants. 
They, too, wanted to found a colony where they 
might worship as they pleased. John White, the 



PLYMOUTH HAS NEIGHBORS 33 

pastor, really suggested the movement; and soon 
all England was talking about the hardy little 
band that was to cross the ocean and open up the 
industries of fishing, hunting, farming, and 
mining/ John Endicott was appointed general 
agent; and Francis Higginson, preacher for the 
new colony.- 

Endicott was delighted with the scenery of Cape 
Ann ; and one of his companions told in a letter of 
the beautiful flowers that decorated the waters, 
which, really, were bright-hued jelly-fish. He was 
surprised to find that a colony was just beginning 
there on the site where Gloucester now stands.^ 

Truly, Gloucester was a settlement of impor- 
tance, from the first, under the rule of mild Roger 
Conant. Edward Winslow of the Plymouth col- 
ony was attracted by the beauty of Cape Ann, and 
probably foresaw that some day a city like the 
present Gloucester would guard its harbor, and be 
the greatest fishing center in the world. 

One can imagine how visitors there enjoyed the 
halibut and mackerel that were as plentiful as the 
leaves on the great trees, and how they were inter- 
ested in hearing about Captain Miles Standish, 
who sailed into Gloucester harbor one day and 
declared war against a man named Hewes, who 
had stolen a fishing-stage that belonged to his be- 



34 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

loved Plymouth. The Gloucester men were so 
frightened that they built a barricade of hogs- 
heads, which Standish, like a cyclone, began to de- 
molish. Blood would have been spilled had not 
Conant interfered. 

John Endicott was attracted to Salem, a trad- 
ing-post that owed its start to Roger Conant. He 
had sixty followers, some of whom decided to set- 
tle at neighboring posts. Things were moving 
along briskly when the other Puritans from Dor- 
chester, England, arrived, under command of their 
governor, John Winthrop.* 

When Winthrop's party arrived at Salem, they 
were much impressed by the warm reception given 
to them. They thought the June air was as balmy 
as that of sunny Spain, and the roses and the 
strawberries the most perfect they had yet seen. 
Some of them went to Dorchester, now a part of 
Boston, where they unloaded their vessels and sent 
them back to England ; but most of them settled in 
the new colony of Salem, which grew so rapidly 
that Plymouth had a hard time to hold her own. 

It is said that the next year after the landing of 
the Pilgrims, Captain Standish and several others 
went in a shallop to what is now known as Boston 
harbor, and lauded there.^ At that time the penin- 



PLYMOUTH HAS NEIGHBORS 35 

sula on which Boston now stands was pear-shaped, 
and the water came to the edge of the Boston Com- 
mon of to-day. Obbatinewat, an Indian chief, 
seems to have been the first Bostonian recorded in 
history, and Captain Standish was pleased with 
his liospitality. He gave them boiled codfish and 
lobsters, and invited them to come again. Allerton 
Point, which guards Boston harbor, was named 
for John Allerton. 

Two years later, the first white man took up his 
abode in Boston, having selected Beacon Hill as 
a place suitable for an old bachelor who wanted 
to be alone. His name was William Blackstone, 
and his was the first house built in Boston. If he 
could visit Beacon Hill to-day, he would find more 
bachelors than are gathered together in any resi- 
dential section in our country. 

Blackstone did not want any close neighbors, 
and was annoyed when a number of prominent 
men met at the Cambridge settlement, across the 
Charles river, and formed a society which they 
called *' Governor and Companions of the Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony." I imagine he thought it 
a very pompous name, and did not like it because 
they secured a second charter from England to 
hold the lands stretching north and west of Boston 
harbor. 



36 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

''I suppose I shall have to move now," said 
Blackstone, ''for the land around my farm will 
soon be surrounded with settlers.^ 

He overcame his odd prejudices, however, and 
opened Beacon Hill, with its fresh spring water, 
to some immigrants from Charlestown. They ar- 
rived one day, with their tents and household 
goods, and told Blackstone of their troubles. 
They had come over from England in the Ara- 
bella, and landed at Baker's Island, near Salem, 
after a voyage of seventy-six days.. What a 
stormy trip it had been for tourists so delicately 
reared and so unused to hardships ! They did not 
care to settle at Salem, so started to found a place 
of their own at Charlestown; but the drinking- 
water there was so bad that they decided to move 
on to Beacon Hill. 

In the party were Governor Winthrop and 
Isaac Johnson, who was the husband of the beau- 
tiful Lady Arabella Johnson, in whose honor their 
English vessel had been named. They had come 
across from Charlestown to Beacon Hill in boats, 
and it is said that the first English woman to set 
foot on Boston soil was Anne Pollard, a brave, 
attractive girl who lived to be over one hundred 
years old. Blackstone, the bachelor, was not 
pleased with the first settlers, even though Anne 



r^ 




Pretty Mar.v Chilton, said to liave bt*eii tlie first of the 
Puritans to place her foot on Plymouth Koek (Pajie Hi) 



PLYMOUTH HAS NEIGHBORS 37 

Pollard and other pretty girls were in the party. 
He sold his land and moved as far away as he 
could get ; but you will be interested to know that 
he returned, years afterwards, and married a girl 
from his home town. 

Governor Winthrop thought Boston the pret- 
tiest part of the new Massachusetts colony — much 
nicer than Dorchester or Saugus or Cambridge, 
which was then called ' ' Newtown. ' ' He was sure 
fhat in time it would be a much pleasanter place 
than Rosbury, founded by William Pyncheon ; or 
"Watertown, started by Sir Richard Saltonstall ; or 
any of the new settlements that were springing 
into existence. 

The golden summer soon faded away, and the 
weather became colder each day until a most 
severe winter was upon them. About all they had 
to eat were clams, mussels, and ground-nuts. 
Isaac Johnson, however, went on laying plans for 
a brilliant future. He had left Lady Arabella at 
Salem, not wishing her to join him until he had 
prepared a decent home for her. He bought a 
tract of land for a residence, where King's Chapel 
now stands, and dreamed of the time when she 
would be the first lady of new Boston and live in 
splendid style. 

Alas, for air-castles ! One day he received word 



38 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

that Lady Arabella was very ill. There were no 
coaches; and travelers had a hard time of it, as 
they had to tramp through deserted forests and 
often depend upon Indians to carry them on their 
backs over swollen streams. He reached Salem in 
time to see his wife die, after which he gave up all 
interest in life. He passed away, soon afterwards, 
and his grave was the first in the burial ground 
of King's Chapel. 

Of the immigrants who had arrived during the 
summer to build the historic towns of Massachu- 
setts, over two hundred died of want and ex- 
posure, and one hundred returned to England. 

Governor Winthrop had decided to make Cam- 
bridge, or ''Newtown," the capital of the Massa- 
chusetts colony; and they had begun to build 
palisades to defend the townsmen from the In- 
dians when he decided to build on the other side 
of the river on a spot north of the place now occu- 
pied by the Old South Meeting House of Boston. 
The street which passed his home became the 
chief thoroughfare of the new city; and, after it 
was visited by Washington, a century and a half 
later, was named in honor of that famous general. 

Boston became the capital when the first gov- 
ernor, John Winthrop, decided to make his home 
there ; but it was so slow in its beginning that the 



PLYMOUTH HAS NEIGHBORS 39 

other settlements made much fun of it, and called 
if Lost Town." 

Soon you shall see, in the development of Bos- 
ton, how great things often come from very small 
beginnings; and how hard and earnest labor 
brings its reward. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE MULTIPLICATION OF TOWNS 

WoNDEEFUL it was, how towns began to spring up 
and flourish, although Boston, or ''Lost Town," 
had little to brag of but the residence of the first 
Massachusetts governor/ Progressive men from 
each town would band together, select a new spot 
for colonizing, and build as rapidly as possible. 
A General Court was organized, and two men 
from each to^vn were sent as chief delegates to 
♦'Lost Town'' to talk over important affairs. 
This was the beginning of our first legislature. 

It was agreed that every man should vote on all 
matters ; and in time, people became so independ- 
ent of the English King that they elected their 
own governors and legislators. Later on, when 
England began to tax her American colonies, it 
was Watertown which began the great War of the 
Eevolution by opposing the practice. 

The people of Plymouth were not envious of the 

remarkable Massachusetts colony to the north. 

They worked harder than ever, and founded other 

towns close by. Captain Standish settled Dux- 

40 



MULTIPLICATION OF TOWNS 41 

bury, and built him a home that was considered 
one of the finest in the land. In fact, it is re- 
corded that he had five chairs, four rugs, five 
feather-beds, one table cloth, four napkins, four 
iron pots, one pair of steel-yards; many muskets, 
carbines, fowling-pieces, belts; and other pieces of 
property. There were no forks in those days ; but 
the Standish home was well supplied with knives, 
mugs, and wooden plates called trenchers. 

The Puritans continued to be as strict as ever 
concerning their daily conduct, and expected their 
neighbors to be as orderly. One of the first trad- 
ing-stations in Massachusetts was established by 
Captain Wollaston on Merry Mount, or Wollaston 
Heights, which, although some distance from 
Plymouth, was too close for comfort.' When the 
Captain was away from camp one day, Thomas 
Morton, whom he had appointed to take his place, 
became very lively and wanted to have one of the 
good old times for which England was noted. 

"Let's make merry!" he cried. *'No more of 
this dull, Puritan life till the Captain returns!" 

He proceeded to celebrate, much to his sorrow, 
in days to come. He and several of his men put 
up a May-pole, and began to dance wildly around 
it, singing and yelling until the Indians came to 
look on. Good humor exciting their generosity, 



42 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

they gave the Indians fire-arms, which was against 
the law; and they all joined together in shooting 
off pistols, blowing horns, and carousing in a most 
shocking manner, until their Puritan neighbors 
arrived and cut down the May-pole. 

It is recorded that Captain Miles Standish 
dragged Morton away to Plymouth, and shipped 
him back to England. Morton, who was a literary 
man, felt very indignant, and made much sport of 
the Pilgrims in some stories he wrote for English 
newspapers. Then he was bold enough to return 
to Wollaston for another good time. The Plym- 
outh people, remembering the unjust things he 
had written about them, were prompt in clapping 
him in jail. He was glad to go back to England, 
and seems to have written no more humorous 
accounts of the Pilgrim Fathers. 

The pretty town of Medford sprang up as soon 
as the settlers of Salem saw what an attractive 
place it would be for residences, with its broad 
meadow-lands and low-spreading trees.' One of 
the mansions which was to stand the wear of cen- 
turies was owned by a later governor. Its walls 
were thick enough to resist the siege of a regi- 
ment, and there was a window in the great chim- 
ney to disclose approaching enemies. The doors 



MULTIPLICATION OF TOWNS 43 

were all iron-barred, and the closets fire-proof. 

William Pyncheon was one of the first of the 
Massachusetts colony to differ from his church in 
regard to certain points of religion. He had come 
over with Governor Winthrop on the ship Ara- 
bella, and settled in thriving little Roxbury, now 
a part of Boston. At last, he decided to go west; 
and a dozen of his townsmen promised to go with 
him. 

Although Springfield is now less than three 
hours' ride from Boston, it took Pyncheon and his 
followers eighteen days to reach there.* They ex- 
pected attacks from the Indians, and were much in 
need of food and dry clothing. Some of the old 
people were carried in litters; but many of the 
children, although tired and footsore, tramped all 
the way from Roxbury. There was another sea- 
son of thanksgiving and rejoicing when they ar- 
rived at the big log hut that marked the end of 
their journey; after which they continued the 
work already begun on the model town of Spring- 
field. 

The people of Springfield insist that Governor 
Winthrop was the father of their city as well as of 
Boston. They are right; for that good man and 
some followers bought the land from the Indians. 
As there was no money in circulation, they paid 



44 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

for it with wampum (small round shells used by 
the redskins as money), also with hose, coats, 
knives, and hatchets. Then they built the first 
rude huts, one of which afforded shelter for the 
later arrivals, Pyncheon and his friends. 

Pyncheon was the first magistrate of Spring- 
field, and he lived in the best house in the Con- 
necticut valley. However, he wrote a book that 
was too broad in its teachings for the Puritans 
back in eastern Massachusetts, and he was turned 
out of office. The book was burned in the Boston 
market-place; and Pyncheon, highly vexed, re- 
turned to England. Some of his descendants re- 
mained, but wisely refrained from literary work 
in those strict days of New England's childhood. 

A queer court was created in Springfield by the 
magistrate that followed Pyncheon. Both men 
and women were publicly whipped for small 
offenses, and anyone who spoke in a loud voice 
was forced to pay a fine. 

The horror of witchcraft, about which you shall 
hear later, really began in Springfield when 
** Goody" Parsons, an old woman, was given 
twenty lashes over the shoulders, by the constable. 
Why did they punish Goody Parsons? Because a 
few n-ervous children were frightened at the ap- 
pearance of the poor old woman, and the magis- 



MULTIPLICATION OF TOWNS 45 

trate decided that Goody must have bewitched 
them. 

In time, an arsenal was built, with grounds cov- 
ering fifty-seven acres. It became a great god- 
send to the national army, and in a little over a 
century and a half after the founding of the city, 
the manufacture of arms was begun there. Cap- 
tain Ephraim Williams also came into public 
notice in this charming region, and rapidly rose 
to the position of Colonel while in charge of a 
government fort. Williamstown and Williams 
College were named in his honor. 

No one at that time ever dreamed that the rude 
shanties of Worcester would some day be trans- 
formed into the fine public buildings and resi- 
dences of the second largest city in Massachu- 
setts. In truth, no other city in the world has 
such a variety of industries. 

The first settlers there had a hard time to hold 
their own, for the Indians in that locality were 
especially fierce and quarrelsome. Once they 
drove all the people out of the village except one 
man, who was determined to stay and defend his 
rights. He was scalped before he had a chance to 
begin fighting; and Worcester, for a time, was 
without a solitary citizen. 



CHAPTER Vin 



MASSACHUSETTS COLONY 



GovEENOB WiNTHEOP's first winter in Boston was 
not such as we should imagine it to be, in this day 
of luxury and civilization. He was alone in his 
cheerless abode until early spring, when his fam- 
ily came over from England. Mrs. Winthrop and 
the children were much pleased with the welcome 
they received, and, also, with the ''donation" 
which the friends of the beloved Governor gave 
him. They were glad they had missed the famine 
that had begun the summer before. Governor 
Winthrop told them of the poverty at Salem, Bos- 
ton, and other towns of the Massachusetts colony, 
and how the good ship Lion had been sent to Eng- 
land for food. For six months the starving col- 
onists had waited. The Governor had given all 
his corn-meal to a needy neighbor ; and one woman 
in Boston is said to have put her last loaf of bread 
in the oven to bake. Public prayers had been 
offered, which were soon answered by the return 
of the Lion. 

46 



MASSACHUSETTS COLONY 47 

The first settlers of Boston were so much de- 
lighted that they had a feast of thanksgiving, 
which was the first one held in America by procla- 
mation/ Captain Pearce saved their lives with 
his great stores of wheat, oatmeal, beef, pork, 
cheese, butter, and suet. He also brought some 
fruit trees for planting. What was, also, gratify- 
ing, he was accompanied by a number of strong 
and capable men, including Roger Williams, John 
Perkins, and Robert Hale. 

House building began in earnest in the Massa- 
chusetts colony. The first church in America, 
which was built in Salem, was not the only 
weather-proof building, for others were erected 
in Boston and neighboring villages.^ You would 
not call the church at Salem a very fine structure, 
in these days ; for it was tiny and dingy, with two 
little windows on each side, and a narrow door 
with a big clumsy key. 

Like the colonists at Plymouth, they did not 
have good lights to read by; so when the curfew 
bell rang at nine o 'clock, instead of daring to stay 
up a few minutes longer, they would cover the 
fires and go to bed. At half-past four, the bell 
would ring again for the people to rise and have 
morning prayers. On Sunday, they would go to 
church at the beating of a drum. Until the church 



48 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

was built, thej ;liiped under a big tree in 

all kinds of weau - ; so it is no wonder that they 
were glad to have a building even though it had a 
thatched roof and mud walls. The men would sit 
on one side, and the women on the other; while 
the boys were placed in charge of a severe old man 
who watched them closely, and fined any one 
twelve pence for whispering. The sermons were 
very long, and no one dared to go to sleep. 

It was the talk of the colony when Dedham put 
up a new church thatched with grass, with the first 
belfry erected in New England. The sexton had 
to stand in the middle of the floor to ring the bell. 

The colonists worked until their hands were 
blistered, and their strength almost gone. Soon, 
whale and cod fisheries were doing a thriving busi- 
ness, and hogsheads of mackerel were packed to 
be shipped and sold at nearly eighteen dollars 
apiece. Furs brought good prices, too ; also, tur- 
pentine, pitch, and tar. Sceva-beans were raised 
in vast quantities, as were pumpkins, squashes, 
and peas. There were fields of rye, oats, and bar- 
ley; and small orchards that yielded cherries, 
plums, pears, and quinces. 

Commerce was opened with Virginia and other 
southern colonies, and foreign trade soon fol- 
lowed. Potatoes, oranges, and limes were shipped 



MASSACHUSETTS COLONY 49 

from Bermuda ; cotton, from the West Indies ; and 
oil and iron, from Malaga. Massachusetts Prov- 
ince became kno^vn throughout the world, espe- 
cially when the Plymouth colony, later, joined it, 
and worked, with all the other towns, for the one 
big- colony. 

The noble forests gave them untold wealth ; for 
clapboards were shipped, also staves, shingles, 
hoops, barrels, and masts for vessel. Ship build- 
ing began. In fact, the first craft of considerable 
size made in America was launched soon after 
Governor Winthrop arrived. It weighed thirty 
tons, and was christened Blessing of the 
Bay.^ 

Goats were the first live stock brought to New 
England, then sheep and cattle.* Edward Wins- 
low had the first horses ; and soon the country was 
so well stocked with sheep, swine, and poultry, 
there was no more danger of famine. 

The little town of Rowley began to manufacture 
^voolen and cotton goods ; and the busy New Eng- 
land mothers, who had worked their spinning- 
wheels from girlhood, learned to make thread and 
linen. 

There was no money in circulation, so the 
people traded lace for vegetables, or swine for 
furniture, until they learned the exact value of 



50 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

every marketable thing. That is how the Yankee 
learned to drive a bargain ; and never has any race 
been more shrewd or saving. 

Governor Winthrop did all he could to encour- 
age trade. He was a gentleman whom all re- 
spected, well worth the monument erected to his 
memory in Scollay Square, Boston. He was badly 
treated by Thomas Dudley, his deputy, but he 
paid no heed to the abuse. Year after year, Dud- 
ley sneered at him. One day he turned to the Gov- 
ernor, and holding out his hand, said, in a very 
humble way, something that you boys and girls 
should not forget: — 

** Winthrop, your overcoming yourself hath 
overcome me. ' ' 

Thomas Dudley, too, deserves credit for apolo- 
gizing. He received his reward by being ap- 
pointed Deputy Governor of Massachusetts Prov- 
ince thirteen times, and twice he was chosen gov- 
ernor. 

Winthrop made his home as pleasant as possible 
for his family, and was very brave and uncom- 
plaining when his little boy was drowned while 
playing. He served as governor for many years, 
and lived up to his position. His guests were re- 
ceived in his best room, which boasted of a Turk- 
ish carpet, tapestries, and heavy candlesticks ; and 



MASSACHUSETTS COLONY 51 

he served them food in the finest pewter dishes of 
that age. 

Although he had made Boston the capital, he 
was not envious of the wonderful growth of 
Salem, whose sturdy sons were becoming noted 
sailors and privateers. Reared according to the 
strict Puritan doctrine, with the pillory, stocks, 
and whipping-posts staring at them from nearly 
every street corner, it is no wonder they preferred 
to get away from home; so, in time, the white 
sails of Salem vessels were found in every port 
in the world.' 



CHAPTER IX 

IN THE DAYS OF SIB HAKEY VANE 

No community ever becomes great that does not 
permit each grown person to have his own re- 
ligious views. The early settlers in Massachu- 
setts, although they had suffered from the narrow 
laws of James I, were really as prejudiced in their 
opinions as he. As a result, peace and prosperity 
did not come until their children grew up to 
manage affairs. 

Poor disturbed John Endicott and John Win- 
throp kept visiting each other and planning how 
to rid Massachusetts of the heretics who were 
opposed to some of their teachings. They were all 
right, at heart, but they did not realize how every 
person naturally differs even from his own 
parents in certain things. 

A Synod was held in Newtown, or Cambridge, 
which was attended by all the leading preachers 
and church members.^ John Endicott, who was 
very large and powerful, roared against the short- 
comings of the people. John Cotton — short and 

53 



THE DAYS OF SIR HAERY yANE 53 

stout, but equally enthusiastic — suggested ways to 
bring about reform.^ John Wilson, another cler- 
gyman, also had much to say.^ 

They agreed to stamp out everything opposed 
to Puritan teachings. All persons who held op- 
posing ideas were to be banished from the colony. 
All must meekly use the form of worship which 
the ministers had chosen.^ So you see this band 
of really great men were acting contrary to the 
principle that had prompted them to leave Eng- 
land and seek a country where they might worship 
as they pleased. 

John Cotton was called the "Patriarch of New 
England." He was once vicar of St. Botolph's 
parish church in Boston, England, but left because 
he wanted a more strict and simple form of re- 
ligion. They were glad to make him Bishop of the 
First Church of the new Boston, however, because 
of his vast learning and power of speech. 

Richard Mather, the pastor in Dorchester, up- 
held John Cotton in many of his teachings.^ He 
was not quite so rigid in his views, doubtless re- 
membering that he had been suspended for having 
had opinions of his own while preaching in Eng- 
land. He, nevertheless, was a wise and good man, 
the father of six distinguished sons, four of whom 
were clergymen. 



54 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

It is interesting to know that his son, Increase 
Mather, married the daughter of John Cotton, and 
that they had a brilliant son whom they named 
Cotton.® It was Increase Mather who, near the 
end of the seventeenth century, obtained a 
new charter for Massachusetts, under which 
he was given power to appoint governors 
and other public officers. His son, Cotton, 
tried to make the church the head of all affairs, 
but failed. This will give you an idea of the cour- 
age and assurance that marked certain members 
of this powerful family. 

John Eliot, called the ''Apostle to the Indians," 
was also a great preacher of this age, but he more 
properly might be called a missionary.^ He had 
the good sense to see that the Indians always 
would be hostile unless they were taught the Chris- 
tian religion, and educated. So he made his home 
with them at Natick, which at that time had no 
white settlers. It is said that he aroused the in- 
terest of the various tribes by giving them apples 
and small presents. He learned their language, 
taught them hymns in their own tongue, and 
turned many of them into useful citizens. 

Later on, Massachusetts had another governor, 
who did not exactly agree with the rules which the 



THE DAYS OF SIR HARRY VANE 55 

clergymen were fighting to maintain. His name 
was Sir Harry Vane, one of the most pleasing 
characters in history.* His father, a prominent 
nobleman, wanted Sir Harry to conform to the 
Church of England, and obey the rules of King 
Charles I. The boy absolutely refused, and joined 
the Puritans. 

Sir Harry was only twenty-three when he came 
to Massachusetts to join the people of his choice. 
In honor to a gentleman of his rank, there was a 
grand salute of cannon and a flourish of trum- 
pets. 

He did not prove to be haughty and overbear- 
ing, but lovable and quite used to making the best 
of things. He did not please the clergymen very 
much, for he held that people properly reared 
should do as their conscience might dictate. Nev- 
ertheless, he is said to have been so popular that 
the people vied with one another in doing him 
honor. At the age of twenty-four, he was made 
Governor of Massachusetts Province ; and it was 
Sir Harry Vane that broke the connection between 
Church and State, and struck the first note of per- 
sonal liberty. 

Among the colonists with independent ideas was 
Ann Hutchinson. She was the first woman lee- 



56 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

turer and founder of women's clubs in the United 
States ; some have gone so far as to suggest that 
she was the first suffragist. 

So violent did Ann Hutchinson become in her 
attacks upon the clergy, she was tried for heresy. 
What long and bitter arguments they had ! How 
Ann used her sharp but clever tongue ! Sir Harry 
Vane agreed with her, but Ex-Governor Win- 
throp opposed her. Symmes, Lothrop, and all the 
notable preachers took sides either for or against 
her. All members of the Boston church were 
loyal to her except John Cotton, although many a 
time she had defended him. The general court 
decided that she was a disturber of the peace, and 
she was driven out of Massachusetts.^ Mrs. 
Hutchinson went into the wilds of Connecticut, 
where she and all her children but one were killed, 
not long after, in an Indian massacre. 

Another so-called "disturber," who turned out 
to be one of the most powerful men of his day, 
was Roger Williams. He, too, had views of his 
own, and quite strong ones they were. He was 
given six weeks in which to depart from Massa- 
chusetts. Leaving his family behind, he wandered 
down to the land of the war-like Narragansetts, 
where he founded a settlement which, in great 



THE DAYS OF SIR HARRY VANE 57 

thankfulness, lie named Providence. There he 
founded the state of Rhode Island, which had no 
church doctrines, and which ever since has offered 
an abiding place for all creeds.^" 

Thomas Hooker, another man of broad judg- 
ment, with keen compassion for all his fellow men, 
also received his share of public censure. Al- 
though the ministers denounced him, and declared 
again and again that he was a heretic and would 
lose his heavenly reward, he insisted that every- 
body should have a voice in adjusting public 
affairs, whether or not he belonged to the church. 
Even Governor Winthrop, the most just man of 
that era, refused to hear his arguments. Thomas 
Hooker, after being driven out of Boston, jour- 
neyed to the present site of Hartford. There he 
founded the great State of Connecticut." 

Although the clergy continued to hold to their 
strict teachings, many members of the church be- 
gan to show keen interest in worldly things. When 
the ladies appeared at church, finer and finer in 
dress each Sunday, the preachers cried out louder 
and louder against their vanity ; but they paid lit- 
tle more heed than the ladies of to-day. 

One editor and clergyman wrote a long article, 



58 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

which is still in existence, against the new style of 
millinery, as follows: — 

**It is no wonder that women wear such head- 
gear on the hinder part of their heads, having 
nothing, as it seems, in the fore part but a few 
squirrel brains to help them to frisk from one ill- 
favored fashion to another." 



CHAPTER X 

LUCY DOWNING PAVES THE WAY FOR HARVARD COLLEGE 

We owe to many people a debt of gratitude for 
Harvard University, the first place of higher 
learning in the United States; but it was really 
a lady who first suggested the idea of having such 
an institution for the purpose of educating Ameri- 
can boys. At that time, it was not thought neces- 
sary for girls to know anything but house work 
and good manners. 

Soon after Governor Winthrop had landed in 
America, he began to long for his sister, Lucy 
Downing. He wrote her urgent letters to join him 
in the new land of promise. She replied that she 
would be delighted to come if it were not for the 
fact that she desired her sons to receive a college 
education. 

'*We will found a college in Massachusetts 
Province," said Winthrop. '' Massachusetts and 
Plymouth colonies will send enough students to 
fill the building." 

At that time the Pequot War broke out, and 
Massachusetts colony had to go to much expense 



60 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

to assist in subduing the bloodthirsty Indians.^ 
The war occurred in the wild Connecticut country, 
and the white settlers there were saved by the 
timely aid of Massachusetts. Captain Mason of 
Windsor, Connecticut, was indeed pleased when 
nearly three hundred eastern soldiers joined him 
to put an end to the terrible Indian attacks. You 
can be sure that whenever the boys of the Old Bay 
State set out to do anything, no obstacle was big 
enough to block their way. Captain Mason and 
his soldiers chased the frightened Pequots, 
through marsh and thicket, to an old fort on the 
Mystic river. Then they set fire to the encamp- 
ment, and made a fierce onslaught. Five or six 
hundred Indians were killed, while the whites lost 
only two men. The victory was such a relief to 
Massachusetts that, of course, she had to have 
another day of thanksgiving and rejoicing. In 
fact, she really had gained instead of losing; for 
she had organized the Ancient and Honorable 
Artillery Company, the oldest military body in 
America, for home defense and the training of 
young soldiers. 

Then John Winthrop continued his plan for 
establishing a place of higher learning. The first 
school in Massachusetts (founded in Plymouth), 



LUCY PAVES THE WAY 61 

and the second one (known as the Public Latin 
School, of Boston) were very good for their kind; 
but they did not prepare boys for advanced posi- 
tions in life.^ 

An assembly was held, and money was voted 
to establish a college. Sir Harry Vane was presi- 
dent of the meeting, and did everything in his 
power to further the cause. It was agreed to 
erect the first building on the beautiful meadow- 
lands of Newtown, where some of the early settlers 
of Boston had their country homes; and to call 
the place Cambridge, in honor of the old university 
town in England. 

John Harvard, a minister at Charlestown, died, 
not long after, leaving half of his small estate 
and three hundred books to the new institution. 
In gratitude to his memory, the college was named 
in his honor ; and Harvard University came into 
existence.^ 

Sir Harry Vane might have done much more 
for this seat of learning, but he felt that he must 
return to England. Oliver Cromwell was ruling 
that country as Lord Protector; but he was as 
narrow and unjust as the Stuart Kings. He be- 
came angry at Sir Harry for writing criticisms 
against the church and for encouraging people to 



62 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

stand up for their own rights. He sent him to 
prison many times, but Sir Harry kept on writing 
and talking against the injustice of the ruler and 
the prevailing religion. 

When Charles II, a king as bad as James I, 
came to the throne, one of the first things he did 
was to create false charges against Sir Harry 
Vane. In spite of his powerful family, Sir Harry 
was dragged from his cell and executed publicly. 
His last words were in defense of religious and 
political freedom.* 

The work on Harvard College was continued 
under Henry Dunster, the first president. Such a 
quaint little building as it was, yet how thought- 
fully arranged! The admission of Indian boys 
was permitted, and, in a short time, eight of them 
were enrolled. 

Not long after, Harvard College received a val- 
uable gift — the first printing press in America, 
which was set up in President Dunster 's house.'' 
A man named Glover had been selected to bring it 
to Cambridge, and to be the founder of printing 
in New England; but he died during the voyage, 
and Mrs. Glover had to see that the press was de- 
livered to Mr. Dunster. She was so brave in her 
sorrow and so helpful in explaining the press that 



LUCY PAVES THE WAY 63 

the good president of the college fell in love, and, 
finally, married her. 

*'The Bay State Psalm Book," the first volume 
to be printed, was published a few yearfe later on 
this Cambridge press; followed by a translation 
of the Bible in the Indian language. 

John Winthrop's sister, Lucy Downing, brought 
her sons to Massachusetts, and they were educated 
at Harvard. Eight there it was proven that an 
American education is a splendid thing; for bril- 
liant George Downing returned to England, and 
became a friend of the powerful Cromwell. He 
married a sister of Viscount Morpeth who, later, 
became the Earl of Carlisle. Cromwell sent the 
young man to Paris on diplomatic business, and 
soon he was appointed ambassador to The Hague. 
Although he became Sir George Downing, and was 
widely respected in England, he never forgot old 
Harvard. His sister Anne became the second wife 
of Governor Bradstreet, who came into promi- 
nence long after Winthrop and Vane had begun to 
help make Massachusetts. 



CHAPTER XI 

PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 

With increasing prosperity, the early settlers of 
Massachusetts grew more and more fond of hav- 
ing their own way. They adopted what they called 
the ''Body of Liberties," and, independent of 
their mother country, kept on governing them- 
selves/ Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of Eng- 
land, during his term of office had rather admired 
their courage. After conquering Jamaica, he 
asked the people of New England to send a colony 
there, to defend and develop it. He said he would 
allow them free rent for seven years, after which 
they might pay the English government one penny 
annually for every acre of land in use. No duties 
or taxes were to be assessed for four years, and 
they were to ride to Jamaica, free of charge, in 
six fine vessels furnished by England; but when 
he added that he would appoint the governor and 
all the other officials, Massachusetts was the first 
to refuse his proposal. 

''We will not go," they agreed, "for we have 
better prospects here, and are doing things as we 

please." 

64 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 65 

There was so much work to be done in every 
line of business that some thought it would be a 
great help to have negro slaves ; but the Puritan 
fathers were so much opposed to the idea that, 
when the first slave was sent from Guinea, they 
seized him and shipped him back home.^ 

Good John Winthrop's death was a great loss 
to the colony; but, by this time, there were so 
many able citizens in Massachusetts, the loss of 
one leader did not retard her progress. 

They decided that they must have money to put 
in circulation, so they established a mint, which 
was a very bold thing for them to do without con- 
sulting England.^ It took them a long time to 
become familiar with the new coins, most of which 
were made of Spanish silver ; and John Hull, the 
mint master, was almost worried to death with his 
many duties. For several years after the mint 
began to operate, most of the ministers continued 
to be paid in corn for their services. No one drew 
a very large salary ; and it is said that the highest 
paid man in New England was Mr. Thatcher, of 
Weymouth. 

It may seem odd to you that although the Puri- 
tans had come to New England to escape persecu- 
tion, they were always ready to punish those who 



66 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

did not agree with them ; but you must remember 
that they had been taught to hold decided opinions 
concerning right and wrong. Therefore, they 
were much vexed when nearly three hundred 
Scotchmen, with their broader views regarding 
religion and government, landed in Boston. These 
unfortunate people, upon their release from the 
prison to which Cromwell had sentenced them, 
came directly to America, much to the lasting good 
of our country.* Devout Baptists and Presbyte- 
rians followed them, with their many opposing 
ideas; but the crisis was reached when the 
Quakers began to arrive. 

The first of these Quakers to appear in Massa- 
chusetts were Anne Austin and Mary Fisher, who 
had sailed from the Barbadoes.^ They wore such 
odd coverings on their heads and used such queer 
forms of expression that everybody laughed at 
them ; but, finally, the Puritans became much con- 
cerned. 

''They are heretics! To jail with them!" they 
cried. 

So the two frail women were placed in a mean 
cell, and a board was nailed across the dingy win- 
dow, that heresy might not befoul the air of 
Massachusetts. They seemed to have no friend 
except Nicholas Upsal, who took them food and 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 67 

told them not to lose heart. For his kindness, the 
officials fined him heavily, and banished him from 
the colony as they had done Roger Williams and 
others. He, too, wandered into Rhode Island, 
where the oppressed ones of every race were sure 
to find welcome. 

What a busy time the magistrates had with the 
Quakers, for years to follow ! Hardly had the two 
women been shipped back to the Barbadoes when 
others of their religious faith arrived. They were 
imprisoned for many weeks, then shipped back to 
the place from whence they had come. 

A year later, two more prominent Quakers were 
given a chance to test New England hospitality. 
One of them was Anne Burden, who had come on 
a business trip ; the other, Mary Dyer, who was on 
her way to meet her husband, a much respected 
citizen of Rhode Island. Both were put in 
jail, but later released, Anne to go to Lon- 
don, and Mary to join her husband in Rhode 
Island. 

The General Court then passed strict laws to 
rid the colony of Quaker visitors. If a man should 
return after being driven away, he should have 
one ear cut off, and be imprisoned for a long time ; 
while a Quaker woman should be severely whipped 
in public and sent away. If the offender should 



68 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

return again, his tongue should be bored with a 
red-hot iron. 

Immediately, the Quakers began pouring into 
Massachusetts; for it was their belief that they 
must go where persecution threatened them. 
Moreover, it was a part of their creed to be gentle 
and uncomplaining under torture, that they 
might win a home in heaven. So when Mary 
Clarke and others were beaten, no hand was 
raised to defend them. In some cases they were 
sold as slaves, but still they continued to come. 
For a time, it was really puzzling to know who 
were persecuted more — the Quakers or the Puri- 
tans. 

When Katherine Scott was lashed, she turned to 
the officials and said, with no look or tone of 
hatred : — 

''If God call us here, woe be to us if we come 
not!" 

Suddenly the Quakers seemed to forsake their 
meek ways, and became energetic preachers. 
Elizabeth Horton at Cambridge and George Wil- 
son at Boston went through the streets scream- 
ing: *'The Lord is coming with fire and sword to 
destroy sinners!" Thomas Newhouse even went 
so far as to enter the Boston meeting-house and 
break a bottle into a thousand bits. ''Thus will 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 69 

the Lord break you in pieces ! " he shouted again 
and again as they were throwing him out. 

To put an end to these hostilities, the Puritans 
began to hang Quakers on old Boston Common.^ 
The prisoners went to the gallows hand in hand, 
with halters around their necks; and if they at- 
tempted to speak to the public, drums were beaten 
to drown out their voices. Mary Dyer left her 
peaceful home in Rhode Island and returned to 
Boston, where her desire to die the death of a 
martyr was satisfied, for she, too, was hanged. 
Her last words were : — 

''In obedience to the command of God, I came; 
and I will abide faithful to the end. ' ' 

King Charles II put an end to these horrors by 
sending a powerful Quaker subject to Massachu- 
setts to forbid further persecutions, much to the 
joy of the best people, who were angry with the 
magistrates and sorry for the miserable Quakers. 



CHAPTER XII 



When peace and progress seemed to be perma- 
nent, the colonists suddenly found themselves 
face to face with a new danger. Boston had con- 
nected Cambridge with the first great American 
bridge/ she had completed the plans for a new 
Castle to guard the harbor,^ and had built other 
imposing structures; now she again had to turn 
her attention to warfare. King Philip was coming 
with his legions of savage Indians to burn and 
massacre ! ^ 

Massasoit, Chief of the Wampanoags, had re- 
mained true to his treaty with the Plymouth set- 
tlers to the day of his death; but his son, Philip, 
who succeeded him, was not a man of honor. In 
truth, he was cruel and treacherous, and quite dis- 
posed to begin his reign by murdering all the 
white people and destroying their property; 
although, for a few years after his father's death, 
he appeared to be friendly. 

Like other Indian braves. King Philip, as he was 

70 



KING PHILIP'S WAR 71 

called, could run nearly a hundred miles a day 
with little effort. So it was not difficult for him 
to speed from tribe to tribe, stirring up hatred 
against the palefaces. The Indian men, who 
were very lazy, would sit around their blazing 
fires, when they had finished hunting, while the 
women and girls would drag the game home, 
erect wigwams, or care for the babies. Truly, the 
Indian women had a very hard time of it ; for the 
men beat and abused them a great deal, especially 
when under the influence of *' fire-water," or whis- 
key, which the traders gave them. 

These early Indians were a savage lot, and very 
fierce did they look in their war-paint, or dressed 
in the skins of wild beasts, moccasins, and orna- 
ments of shells and stones, their straight black 
hair full of feathers. "When the supply of deer, 
moose, corn, squashes, and beans was exhausted, 
they would eat wild fruits, nuts, acorns, and even 
reptiles. 

King Philip, because of his famous father, was 
much respected by the powerful Narragansetts ; 
and soon he had them getting their axes, toma- 
hawks, wooden spears, and knives ready for bat- 
tle. What was more to be feared, the traders had 
sold them fire-arms, which they used almost en- 
tirely in the bloody massacres that were to follow. 



72 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

For a time, the colonists did not know the plot 
laid by the hostile Indians, for they were too much 
disturbed by the arrival of Edmund Randolph, 
whom King Charles II sent over to pry into New 
England affairs. Randolph was a great mischief- 
maker, and he sailed across the ocean many times, 
back and forth, carrying secret information to 
the King. He was the cause of the Crown taking 
away the charter of the colonists, and he made 
trouble that lasted for years. 

The Indian plot was nearly completed when the 
Plymouth colony sent some representatives to 
King Philip to ask if he meant to break the treaty 
made by his father. He denied that he was un- 
friendly, but, finally, he confessed his treachery, 
gave up several score of muskets, and signed an- 
other treaty in which he promised to keep the 
peace. Soon, however, the Indians were disturb- 
ing the white settlers again, and Philip had to sign 
another treaty, which was barely accomplished 
when he went forth and urged the various tribes, 
including four thousand Narragansett braves, to 
carry on the war. Did you ever hear of anything 
more treacherous? This proves that a son does 
not always inherit the noble traits of his father. 

Philip concluded that it would be best to wait 
two or three years for the big massacre, that his 



KING PHILIP'S WAR 73 

Indian army might be larger and better prepared. 
Before the time arrived, John Sassaman, one of 
John Eliot's Indian students at Natick, got into 
trouble, and sought refuge with Philip. While 
living with him, he learned of the proposed mas- 
sacre, and at once returned to Natick to tell the 
Christian Indians. 

Good John Eliot, the first American missionary, 
was very much discouraged, for he had tried hard 
to keep peace between the two races. He had in- 
fluenced whole families of Indians to fear God, 
and had translated the Ten Commandments and 
the Lord's Prayer into their language. He had 
taught them agriculture and many other useful 
things. It has been said that he organized the 
first industrial school in America. He also wrote 
the Bible in their language, which was one of the 
first books published in the colonies after the in- 
troduction of the printing-press. John Eliot im- 
mediately warned the authorities at Boston. 

When King Philip learned that the white col- 
onists had been informed of his wicked plan, he 
ordered war at once. With blood-curdling yells, 
the Indians sallied forth in all directions. At 
Swansea, they killed several people and most of 
the live stock, and smashed and plundered the 
houses. Poor John Sassaman, the Indian 



74 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

preacher at Natick who had spread the alarm, 
was killed and thrown into a pond ; but the crime 
was avenged when three of the savages who had 
committed the deed were taken to Plymouth and 
hanged. 

Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies organized 
their little armies for prompt action. The Boston 
regiment of a hundred men volunteered to defend 
Swansea ; but before it had arrived, the Plymouth 
force had scattered the enemy, killing six Indians. 

The people of Brookfield were surprised by the 
dreaded savages, and fled to their fortified house 
built of logs. The men fired through loop-holes 
and killed a number of advancing foes ; but they 
would have been burnt alive by the devouring 
flames created by the torches of the redskins, had 
it not been for a drenching rain that put a stop to 
the conflagration. In a few days, the Indians fell 
upon them again, more determined than before. 
They destroyed the town, and returned to King 
Philip and his party of forty men, women and 
children, gathered in a swamp, close by, where 
they held a frightful war-dance, in celebration of 
their victory. 

**The Flower of Essex," consisting of Captain 
Beers and his band of Boston soldiers, were at- 
tacked while carrying provisions to Northfield and 



KING PPIILIP'S WAR 75 

other stricken towns. The Captain was killed, and 
many of his brave men, much to the horror of the 
white settlers. 

Captain Lathrop, of Salem, and eighty soldiers 
went to Deerfield with teams, to get several thou- 
sand bushels of corn which were stacked in the 
meadows. On their return, while stopping to rest 
at Sugar Loaf Mountain, seven hundred Indians 
in war paint pounced upon them. Nearly all of the 
soldiers, including Captain Lathrop, were killed, 
and their bodies hacked with knives and toma- 
hawks. 

In the midst of this bloody victory. Captain 
Mosely, to whom news had been brought at Deer- 
field of the massacre, rushed upon the savages 
with his gallant men. A fierce battle followed, in 
the midst of which Captain Mosely found, to his 
despair, that their supply of powder was ex- 
hausted. Then came a volley of well-aimed shots. 
Nearly two hundred other soldiers had arrived to 
lend their assistance. With true Yankee grit, the 
colonists fought their dusky foes until the few re- 
maining ones limped from sight. 

Have you heard of the ''White Angel" who ran 
into the palisade at Hadley one day, while several 
hundred Indians were attacking it? He was a 
great, strong man, and so full of courage that the 



76 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

tired to^vllsmeIl fought with renewed energy. He 
fired more shots than any other man while he 
laughed and joked. "When the savages had been 
repulsed, the rescuing "White Angel" went away 
and was never seen by the Hadley people again. 
Years later, it was learned that King Charles II of 
England had offered a big reward for the return 
of the "Wliite Angel," who was one of the judges 
that had condemned his father, Charles I, to be 
beheaded. His real name was Major General Wil- 
liam Goffe. 

Poor John Eliot and his "Praying Indians," as 
they were called, suffered much at the hands of the 
furious white settlers. It was really small won- 
der that all redskins were suspected at that time, 
although it is said that the followers of Missionary 
Eliot were true to their trust, even though they 
were taken from their homes at Natick and com- 
pelled to camp on Deer Island, in Boston harbor. 

King Philip lost heart when the powerful Nar- 
ragansetts were almost wiped from the earth, 
down in Rhode Island. To add to his misery, his 
allies began to desert him, and he fled. Soon after, 
he returned to his old home at Mount Hope, hav- 
ing lost his wife and child during his wanderings. 
An Indian named Alderman had been watching 
his movements for many days. He was resolved 



KING PHILIP'S WAR 77 

to kill King Philip because that powerful leader 
had slain his brother, and an Indian never forgets 
an injury done to his people. So one day, with 
Captain Church and his men, he penetrated the 
swamp where King Philip was hiding, and slew 
him without mercy. His body was quartered, 
and one hand was given to Alderman.* 

The death of King Philip did not stop the 
wretched war ; but the Indians were beginning to 
realize that white men were hard to conquer. 



CHAPTER XIII 

HOW MASSACHUSETTS ENTERTAINED THE FIRST ROYAL, 
GOVERNOR 

England had made up her mind that Andros, the 
new Royal Governor, should unite the Plymouth 
and Massachusetts colonies; moreover, that he 
should rule New York, New Jersey, and Acadia. 
Imagine the feelings of the New Englanders when 
they learned that their charter had been annulled, 
and when the Royal Governor arrived to rule them 
with an iron rod/ 

What a pompous, overbearing creature was 
Andros ! How he strutted around with his big hat 
and scarlet coat, and insulted the Puritan colonists 
that had ruled themselves for half a century ! ^ 
He boasted that he was, also. Governor of the 
Netherlands, which he had conquered for Eng- 
land ; and that he was surely powerful enough to 
keep the head-strong Massachusetts colony in 
check. He turned the General Court out of office ; 
and even went so far as to insist that when King 
Charles II annulled the charter, their lands be- 

78 



ENTERTAINED THE GOVERNOE 79 

came the property of the Crown. In order to live 
in Massachusetts, one must pay hea\y taxes on the 
property he thought he owned. Everything really 
belonged to England and Governor Andros, ac- 
cording to the bragging of this much hated official. 
He enforced the Navigation Laws which the 
Mother Country had been making from time to 
time, rendering it impossible for Massachusetts 
ships to carry goods to any country but England, 
and so injuring commerce. 

The Puritans got a taste of their own medicine 
when Andros proclaimed that only the Episcopal 
form of worship would be permitted. For a time, 
he and his soldiers worshiped in the Old South 
Meeting House of Boston, compelling the regular 
members to keep out of their way. Then he de- 
cided that he would build a finer church for his 
Episcopal subjects; and the first King's Chapel 
was erected.^ 

Increase Mather went to England to beg for the 
recall of Andros, and permission for Massachu- 
setts to rule herself again ; but England appeared 
anxious for Andros to stay where he was. 

One day, young Jack Winslow returned from a 
voyage to the British West Indies, and reported 
all over Boston that William III of Orange had 
ascended the throne of England. There was great 



80 STORY OP MASSACHUSETTS 

rejoicing at the news. Indeed, it seems strange 
that the devout Puritans did not appoint another 
public thanksgiving. They knew that William III 
would rule them justly, and that he had little re- 
gard for Governor Andros. 

When the news of William's ascension to the 
throne reached his ears, the Royal Governor be- 
gan to roar like a caged lion. He rushed down to 
Fort Hill, which he himself had built, and sent his 
men out to deny the story of Jack Winslow. He 
had the poor boy put in prison, while he dashed 
wildly about, with fluttering curls and laces, furi- 
ously denying the truth of Jack's news. You can 
imagine his confusion, later, when the Declaration 
of William III of Orange was placed in his hands.* 

Then Jack Winslow was released, amid a dem- 
onstration from the people, who cheered and made 
merry to such an extent that the angry Governor 
ordered his Royal Frigate Rose, fully armed, to 
sail into Boston harbor. This action aroused the 
people as nothing else could have done. They 
seized several of the Governor's pet officials and 
locked them in jail, to take Jack Winslow 's place. 

"Hurrah for King William!" they shouted. 
*'Down with Andros!'* 

Andros was beginning to be frightened now as 
well as angry; so he ran up a flag of truce on the 



ENTERTAINED THE GOVERNOE 81 

Frigate Rose, all the time calling the Boston peo- 
ple names that were by no means flattering. 

A few days later, the Puritan leaders came out 
on the balcony of the historic Old State House, 
and read what was called the "Declaration of 
Rights." In a loud voice, the reader avowed that 
the people of Massachusetts would govern them- 
selves until word was received from His Majesty, 
King William III. 

Some of the crowd wanted to hang Andros, and 
he ran back to the fort as fast as his thin legs 
could carry him. Then the mob stormed the fort, 
but no shot was returned in defense. At last, the 
people grew so bold, they climbed on the Frigate 
Rose and pointed her guns straight at the fort, 
where poor Andros was shaking in terror. Then 
they went still further by making the frigate and 
the fort surrender. Before the day was over, they 
had the Royal Governor a prisoner in his own fort. 
How Jack Winslow must have enjoyed it all ! 

A ''Convention of Freemen" was called, at 
which Massachusetts renewed her old government, 
and arranged to call back the former General 
Court and elect her own governor. 

Andros tried to escape, several times; but he 
was caught and rudely escorted back to his cell. 
There is a tradition that on one occasion he put on 



82 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

women's clothes and might easily have escaped, 
had he not met a shrewd old lady who noticed his 
boots sticking out under his petticoats, and recog- 
nized the shape of his hooked nose. 

None too soon for his comfort, Andros was sent 
back to England, where King William III heard 
his sad tale, and decided that he was to be pitied ; 
and he smiled in amusement at the Puritans who 
had returned with Andros, to make sure that he 
told no lies about Massachusetts. 



CHAPTER XIV 

SIE WILLIAM PHIPS 

King William III granted Massachusetts a new 
charter, but it was by no means a satisfactory one. 
He ordained that Massachusetts, Plymouth, 
Maine, and Acadia (now called Nova Scotia) 
should be one great colony. Another maddening 
fact was his declaration that Royal Governors of 
his appointing should continue to rule them. The 
colonists might retain their General Court, but 
proper citizenship— not the church— should be its 
foundation. Then he almost broke their hearts by 
adding that all laws must be approved by him 
before they could be enacted. Poor Massachu- 
setts found herself almost as helpless as she had 
been when Andros held sway ! 

In due time, the King appointed another Royal 
Governor, the only one of the long line of rulers 
who was born in New England. Massachusetts 
had a good laugh ; for the choice fell on Sir Wil- 
liam Phips, who lived in one of the first brick 



84 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

houses built in Boston — one that boasted of a 
cupola. He was a bad-tempered, unpopular little 
man, with a big head and mighty opinions. It is 
said that when he could not get a man to agree 
with him, he made short work of the situation by- 
trying to knock him down. He was a poor speller 
and a very tiresome talker. 

William Phips was born in Maine, the youngest 
of twenty-six children. His father was a black- 
smith, and had a hard time trying to support such 
a regiment of little Phipses. William built a ves- 
sel, which was called a ''coaster," and sailed forth 
to see the world. He first stopped at Boston, 
where he married a widow and settled down for a 
while; but his love of adventure was again re- 
vealed when he heard of an English treasure ship 
that had sunk. He asked the King's permission 
to recover the lost property. The King consented, 
and Phips, after a difficult time of it, succeeded in 
saving a great quantity of precious materials, 
amounting to much over a million dollars. 

The King was so much pleased that he gave 
Phips one hundred thousand dollars, and made 
him an English knight. He, also, presented Mrs. 
Phips with a gold cup worth several thousand 
dollars. 

During the long war between France and Eng- 




'Why — why don't you speak, for yourself, John?" (Page 2S) 



SIR WILLIAM PHIPS 85 

land, Sir William Pliips had a chance to add more 
glory to his name, for the King sent him on an 
expedition to Port Royal, in Canada. This place 
was held by the French, and the English were 
anxious to capture it. 

Phips left Boston with eight ships containing 
seven hundred men. It is said that the French 
greatly feared the *'Bostonians," having heard 
that they were great in numbers, strong in battle, 
and of many occupations and religious creeds. 

Thanks to his able assistants, Phips took Port 
Royal and other French settlements on the Aca- 
dian coast, and returned in less than a month, 
bringing prisoners and valuables.^ For a time, 
England rang with his praises, and it was thought 
that he was the man to conquer all Canada. How- 
ever, he was unable to justify this opinion when, 
with his famous Massachusetts fighters, he at- 
tempted to conquer Quebec. The French were 
determined to hold the city, and they made a splen- 
did fight in its defense. Phips, who was accus- 
tomed to having his own way, confused his army 
with many opposing commands, and caused wild 
firing of cannon and useless waste of ammunition. 
He lost two hundred men, and took the rest back 
suffering from an epidemic of small-pox. 

He was the most unpopular man in Massachu- 



86 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

setts when the King appointed him Royal Gov- 
ernor.^ 

By this time, the glamour of title and wealth was 
beginning to allure the colonists. A steady in- 
crease of prosperity, in spite of French and Indian 
wars, was causing the people of Massachusetts to 
dress almost as well as the English nobility.^ They 
paid much attention to the new Royal Governor 
and Lady Phips, whom they entertained in houses 
said to be finer than those of any other city out- 
side of London. 

The Phips home was a court in itself, and the 
scene of many splendid social affairs. Although 
the strict old Puritan government had passed a 
law forbidding any man with less than a thousand 
dollars to walk the streets in great boots, the 
young cavaliers of the time, who dressed them- 
selves luxuriously from a small income, appeared 
in well-made boots with flaring tops ; and later, in 
silken hose and fancy slippers. Although the 
Massachusetts legislature denounced wigs, and 
Reverend Mr. Noyes and John Eliot attacked them 
from the pulpit, all the bald-headed men wore 
them! and many others, too — the Reverend John 
Cotton and the Reverend John Wilson among the 
number. 

The Royal Governors had brought pomp and 



SIR WILLIAM PHIPS 87 

vanity in their train, which the children of the 
Pilgrim Fathers were beginning to approve. A 
gentleman of the time must have in his wardrobe 
a change of satin coats with flowers of blue and 
gold, a scarlet coat with silver buttons, several 
pairs of damask breeches, rapiers and silver belts, 
fine shirts and kerchiefs and cravats and ruffles 
and ribbons, a diamond ring, a gorgeous snuff-box 
— and a wig ! 



CHAPTER XV 



WITCHCEATT 



About this time, Massachusetts was much dis- 
turbed over the question of witchcraft/ A great 
many people seem to lay the whole blame upon 
Salem ; but if you will inquire into the subject, you 
will find that in Boston, Springfield, and other 
places, people were also suspected of being- 
witches, and cruelly persecuted. Salem, however, 
was the center of this peculiar excitement. In 
these days, no boy or girl would believe in such a 
thing as witchcraft, for it is a silly, superstitious 
idea, that possibly came from a lack of suitable 
reading and recreation ; but at that time the world 
was much less enlightened, and superstition 
abounded. 

Some nervous, excitable children began the 
trouble by falling into spasms and screaming 
whenever they happened to meet some queer-look- 
ing old dame. They made such a disturbance that 
their parents were almost distracted, and the doc- 
tors and preachers did not know what to do. If 



WITCHCRAFT 89 

these children had been spanked soundly for their 
whims, the lives of many innocent people might 
have been spared. 

Should some poor old lady live quietly by her- 
self, her neighbors would begin immediately to say 
that she was very peculiar in her ways and cer- 
tainly must be a witch. Then they would go 
further by hinting that, possibly, she was visited 
by evil spirits at night, and that she rode about 
on a broom when no one was looking. You can 
imagine the gossip that was stirred up over any 
trifling event that could easily have been ex- 
plained. 

Like an epidemic, the superstition of witchcraft 
spread over the country until everybody was 
likely to be suspected, even to strong men and 
pious women. Case after case was tried by the 
magistrates, and at one time a hundred of these 
supposed witches were in jail awaiting trial. 
Many of them were pronounced guilty. Although 
they cried and wrung their hands and declared 
their innocence, they were hanged in public. 

One of the first victims to go to the gallows was 
Margaret Jones, who, like Mary Dyer, the Quaker- 
ess, gave up her life in Boston. Magistrate Hib- 
bens, who sentenced her to death, had his sin re- 
turn on his own head, later, and no one felt sorry 



90 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

for him. He might have saved the poor frightened 
wretch, but he thought hanging was a good way to 
rid Massachusetts of unclean spirits. Hibbens 
had a wife who was very much liked in Boston. 
She was a relative of Richard Bellingham, then 
Deputy Governor of the Province, and very prom- 
inent in social affairs. Before long, wealthy peo- 
ple began to be suspected as well as humbler folk; 
and, at last, the rumor was whispered about 
concerning the wife of the superstitious magis- 
trate : — 

**Mrs. Hibbens is a witch, too. How queer she 
is becoming ! Evil spirits are entering her body. ' ' 

This was not the first case where death resulted 
from the breath of scandal ; and Mrs. Hibbens was 
at once foredoomed to destruction. Although her 
husband tried hard to save her, calling to his aid 
all his wealthy and powerful friends, she was 
hanged, eight years after he had sentenced poor 
Margaret Jones. 

At this time, several children belonging to John 
Goodwin, a mason, began to twitch and scream, 
and act so peculiarly that their parents were sure 
they had fallen under an evil spell. The next thing 
to do was to find the one who had bewitched them. 
Everybody was questioned, and it was agreed that 
the guilty one must be the mother of their laun- 



WITCHCRAFT 91 

dress, poor *' Goody" Glover, who was strange in 
her manners. Without a chance to defend herself, 
the old woman was put in a cart and hurried away 
to the gallows. Cotton Mather tried his best to 
save her; but the Mathers could do very little in 
such a period of unreasoning excitement. 

John Proctor, of the to^vn now called Peabody, 
a calm and just man, boldly declared that the idea 
of witchcraft was an offense to God, and that the 
people who persecuted the witches were really 
the ones that attracted unclean spirits. When his 
servant, Mary Warren, was tried as a witch, he 
boldly denounced the magistrates and all who 
believed such wicked things of godly people. He 
and his good wife with many of their relatives 
were imprisoned, and, in order to make the exam- 
ple as horrible as possible, his farm was stripped 
by the sheriff, and he was hanged. 

At Danvers, then known as Salem village, a 
little girl nine years old, named Elizabeth Parris, 
became much interested in sorcery and witchcraft. 
Her father, Samuel Parris, who was a preacher, 
began to hunt around for the person who had 
brought wicked spirits into his own upright house- 
hold. In this case, Tituba, a half Indian slave, was 
the unfortunate victim. Mr. Parris preached a 
sermon from his pulpit concerning the great curse 



92 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

that was making the last half of the seventeenth 
century the most horrible epoch in history. 

After this, other children began having fits, and 
the blame was laid on two of the best women in 
the church, Rebecca Nourse and Martha Corey, 
both of whom were hanged. The home of Rebecca 
Nourse still stands; and there are many people 
to-day who will tell you that no better woman ever 
gave up her life in the cause of silly superstition. 

Many persons, at that time, began to hide them- 
selves in their homes, lest they might be suspected. 
As a result, others believed that they were con- 
ducting themselves strangely in solitude, and 
branded them as witches. You must not think that 
the persecutors were entirely to blame ; for, even 
in our generation the most fearful experiences 
are apt to occur if people do not keep cool heads 
and a belief in the sincerity of their fellow men. 

The clergy did not escape, for the Reverend 
George Burroughs was accused; and a warrant 
was sent to Maine for his arrest. Giles Corey, an 
old man sixty years of age, died a martyr, on the 
scaffold, his body covered with many weights. To 
the last, he refused to plead his cause. 

However, witchcraft received its death-blow 
when it penetrated the circle of which Sir William 
Phips was the center. Hezekiah Usher, a promi- 



WITCHCRAFT 93 

nent magistrate, and Mrs. Hale, the wife of a 
noted Beverly preacher, were accused of being 
ministers of Satan, and common witches. Sir 
William was awake to the awful crisis which 
Massachusetts was facing; and he flew into a 
spasm of rage that anyone should dare to accuse 
his associates of such a vulgar thing. He pro- 
tested louder than ever when the scandal entered 
his own home, and Lady Phips was accused of 
being a witch, like ''Goody" Glover and scores of 
others who had been abused and hanged. He is 
the one who stopped this terrible frenzy, which 
ever since has been a sad blot on the history of 
the state. The better class of people never for- 
gave him for his early negligence, and he was 
summoned back to England by the King to answer 
whole volumes of charges that had been brought 
against him. His romantic life ended abruptly 
and sorrowfully ; for he died soon after his arrival 
there. 



CHAPTER XVI 



FEENCH AND INDIAN WAE 



All this time, Indian massacres were raging along 
the northern and western borders of New Eng- 
land. **King Philip's War" had merged into the 
** French and Indian War." This was a part of 
the ''Seven Years' War" going on in Europe, in 
which France, with Austria and Russia, was fight- 
ing England and Prussia. 

Both France and England were determined to 
increase their holdings in America. The power of 
the French was broken, however, when the English 
General, James Wolfe, defeated the French Gen- 
eral, Marquis de Montcalm, in a battle at Quebec, 
during which both of these brave leaders lost their 
lives. Four years later, France surrendered to 
England all her Canadian possessions as well as 
those west of the Mississippi river ; and the Eng- 
lish became supreme in America. 

During this great war, some of the Indians 
sided with the English; others, with the French. 
The people of New England suffered many bar- 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 95 

barous attacks from those Indians who hated the 
English and were espousing the cause of France. 
There are many tales of horror connected with 
this war that are better left untold ; for after what 
you have learned concerning the gloomy days of 
witchcraft, you need to see the cheerful side of 
colonial life. However, in order to do justice to 
the brave defenders of Massachusetts, it is neces- 
sary to tell of their sufferings during this great 
struggle. 

Many Indian stories still cling to the city of 
Haverhill, a settlement which was named by its 
first preacher, John Ward, a brilliant scholar from 
old Cambridge, in England.^ The early history of 
Salem shows that it was inhabited by the Puri- 
tans, who went to their little church each Sunday, 
at the beating of a drum; and sat with their 
prayer-books in one hand, praising God, and their 
muskets in the other, defying the redskins. 

One day, two boys, named Joseph Whittaker 
and Isaac Bradley, were working in a field, near 
the home of the latter.- They were whistling and 
chattering and enjoying themselves as boys do 
when, suddenly, they looked up to find themselves 
surrounded by a band of wild Indians. They had 
no chance to run, and were too much frightened to 
defend themselves. The burly savages seized 



96 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

them, tied their hands behind them, and hurried 
them away. They learned that they were to 
be taken to Canada, hundreds of miles distant, 
where they would be prisoners the rest of their 
lives. 

During the entire winter, the two lads pursued 
their dismal journey, cold, footsore, and disgusted 
with Indian food. They had grown quite accus- 
tomed to being beaten, but could not overcome the 
pangs of homesickness that seemed to increase 
each minute. 

One dark night, while they were grieving over 
their plight, they suddenly discovered that their 
guard was not on duty. Quick as a flash, they 
sprang up and ran, at the top of their speed, into 
the forest. In a moment, however, the Indians 
observed that their prisoners had escaped, and 
there was a general alarm. The boys could hear, 
in the distance, excited shouts and the barking of 
dogs. Realizing that Indians could run faster 
than any white boy in Massachusetts, they looked 
about for some place of concealment. 

''Here is a hollow tree!" gasped Whittaker. 
**It is big enough to hold us both!" 

They climbed into it quickly, and clung to each 
other, awaiting their fate. 

**The dogs have followed us," whispered Brad- 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 97 

ley. *'Let us give them the venison we brought 
from camp. ' ' 

So they threw out the meat, and the dogs 
snapped it up and trotted away peaceably to join 
their masters, who had disappeared from hearing. 

When the sounds of pursuit had died down, the 
two boys wandered on through the forest. They 
went on and on for at least two hundred miles, in 
a direction which they thought led toward Haver- 
hill. Imagine their surprise when, finally, they 
reached Fort Saco, in Maine. There they were 
cared for, however, until they had recovered from 
their bitter experience, and sent back safely to 
their homes. 

Haverhill seems to have been especially hated 
by the Indians favoring the French. During one 
of the fiercest attacks on that unfortunate village, 
brave Hannah Dustin was captured.^ When the 
first alarm was raised, her husband ran home and 
warned his large family. Gathering together as 
many of his children as he could, he hurried them 
to safety. Hannah was taking care of her baby, 
at the time, and the nurse was with her. They 
were too much startled to follow Mr. Dustin ; and 
before they could manage to escape, the Indians 
were there, destroying and burning everything 



98 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

around them. Several seized the two women and 
forced them along, while others soon had the Dus- 
tin home enveloped in a mass of roaring flames. 

When poor Mrs. Dustin had trudged along fully 
twelve miles, her captors saw that the infant she 
held to her breast kept her from walking faster. 
Shocking to relate ! they killed it without mercy. 
No one will ever know the agony of Hannah Dus- 
tin during her long walk of one hundred and fifty 
miles. She came of Puritan stock, however, and 
possessed a brave spirit. In her wigwam, she 
planned to return to Haverhill and find out the 
fate of her family. 

One night, when the Indians had lain down to 
sleep off their drunken stupor, Hannah — with the 
aid of her servant, and a young white boy, also a 
captive — killed ten of them with their own hatch- 
ets. Only one or two escaped. 

A grand celebration was held in Haverhill upon 
her return, and the state legislature gave her quite 
a sum of money and a letter commending her 
bravery. A monument to her memory has been 
erected in Haverhill ; and all the children of that 
great manufacturing city are familiar with the 
story of Hannah Dustin 's sad and hazardous jour- 
ney through the forests of New England, and her 
triumphant return. 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 99 

Another monument in Haverhill pays tribute to 
the beloved pastor of the village, Benjamin Rolfe, 
who lost his life in a later massacre. While he 
was reading in his library, the Indians rushed into 
the house and slew the good man and his wife with 
tomahawks. Hager, their maid, fled to the cellar, 
where she hid the two little Rolfe children and her- 
self under tubs and barrels, and thus escaped 
death. That was a dreadful night in Haverhill, 
for the Indians had been encouraged by the 
French to do all the harm they could to English 
settlers. 

Indeed, the reign of Queen Anne of England 
was a frightful period for the Americans on the 
border of the Massachusetts Province. Deerfield 
suffered more than its share of hardships ; but the 
most disastrous event in its history occurred seven 
years after the attack on Haverhill in which Han- 
nah Dustin distinguished herself.* 

One early winter morning, the inhabitants were 
surprised by the Indian allies of the French com- 
mander, Hertel de Rouville. They had no time to 
rush to the palisade for protection, for the red- 
skins were already dragging them from their 
beds. Those who defended themselves were slain 



100 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

without mercy, and tlie whole village was soon 
enveloped in flames. 

The Williams family was the first to suffer. 
Mr. Williams, the revered pastor of the church, 
was attacked by a score of Indians, and although 
he fought desperately, they eventually succeeded 
in binding him, after which they taunted and tor- 
tured him for over an hour because he had resisted 
them. Before his eyes they killed two of his chil- 
dren and a negro servant, and then compelled 
Mrs. Williams, who was an invalid, to rise from 
her bed and dress herself. 

In the meantime. Captain Stoddard, their neigh- 
bor, escaped barefooted, to tell Hatfield that Deer- 
field was in flames and nearly half a hundred peo- 
ple killed by the Indians. Before help could reach 
the stricken village, Hertel de Rouville had gath- 
ered his prisoners together, including the Williams 
family, and had started them on their long trip to 
Canada. Quite a number of the captives were so 
weak and frightened that the savages murdered 
them as a warning' to the others that they must 
walk faster or share the same fate. 

The Hatfield men overtook the wretched proces- 
sion ; but so many of them were killed in the dread- 
ful fight that followed, the remaining ones fled to 
the hills. The French commander had no mercy 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 101 

on his prisoners, although their feet were bleed- 
ing, and their strength almost exhausted. Mrs. 
Williams fell fainting, and was slain with a 
hatchet. So many gave out that the commander, 
finally, had the Indians prepare sledges for the 
sick captives and small children. Mr. Williams 
lost several other children during the pilgrimage, 
but clung with all his might to his little son, 
Stephen, who afterwards told the story of what 
was considered the most cruel act that marked the 
French and Indian war. 

When the Deerfield prisoners reached Canada, 
the French people treated them kindly. At Mon- 
treal, the Governor showed Mr. Williams every 
consideration, and ransomed him and his children 
as well as nearly sixty other prisoners. They 
were put on board a government ship and sent to 
Boston. 

Although Deerfield was still the victim of Indian 
attacks, the pastor accepted an earnest invitation 
to return to his parish, even though he might ex- 
perience other misfortunes. To the day of his 
death, he was constantly striving to recover the 
children he had lost during that miserable march 
to Canada. He finally learned that his daughter 
Eunice had been treated kindly by the tribe of 
Indians into whose hands she had fallen. They 



102 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

refused to give her up, and she was so young that 
she soon learned their ways and grew attached to 
them. Years later, dressed as a squaw, she came 
with a party of Indians to visit Deerfield ; but no 
one could induce her to remain. Afterwards, she 
married one of the same tribe, and became the 
mother of a large family. 

Strange as it may seem, her father's courage 
was not broken by his misfortune, for we learn 
that he married again and reared another family 
of children. Happy and contented, he reached a 
good old age, in the house given him by the kind- 
hearted citizens of Deerfield. 



CHAPTER XVII 

LOUISBURQ 

There was a great commotion in the Old Bay 
State. Bells were ringing, drums were beating, 
and whistles were blowing. Waves of excitement 
were spreading east and west, for the stalwart 
sons of Massachusetts had resolved to take part 
in the French and Indian War. They meant to 
sail to Canada and show the hated French Gov- 
ernors that, notwithstanding the Indian massa- 
cres, there were many sturdy men left in the colo- 
nies who were ready to fight for their state and 
their king. 

William Shirley, the Royal Governor, not only 
admired their spunk, but was personally prepar- 
ing to take a hand in the fight. The man of 
greatest importance, however, was Commander 
William Pepperell, a ship-builder and merchant, 
who was placed in charge of the expedition. The 
colonists agreed that he was rightly named, for 
his every word and movement suggested pepper. 
No one could doubt his daring; for had he not 
given his bride, the grand-daughter of Judge 
Sewell, a big hoopskirt for a wedding present? 

108 



104 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Roger Wolcott was second in command to Wil- 
liam Pepper ell, with the rank of Major General. 
The objective point was Louisburg, which William 
Vaughan, a Maine fisherman, had declared might 
be easily taken. Louisburg was the seat of a pow- 
erful fortress, which had been built by the French 
on the coast of Cape Breton, a part of Acadia, or 
Nova Scotia, as it is now called. The Massachu- 
setts army, with forces from Connecticut and New 
Hampshire, wished to take Louisburg, and thus 
assist England in her plan to subdue the French. 

About four thousand men sailed from Boston 
harbor on this memorable expedition. Sir Peter 
Warren, a British commander, had charge of the 
little navy; while Commander Pepperell and his 
militia, although hungry and half clad, did most 
of the work. They were joyously surprised when 
Louisburg raised a flag of surrender. 

Boston was almost beside herself with delight 
when the brave Massachusetts army came sailing 
home. This time, there must have been hundreds 
of thanksgiving dinners; for New England had 
shown the Mother Country how well she could 
fight. The Crown gave Sir Peter Warren the posi- 
tion of Admiral ; while Sir William Pepperell be- 
came the head of the army — the first man bom in 
Massachusetts to receive a title.* 



LOUISBURG 105 

The French were extremely angry over the vic- 
tory. To think that proud Louisburg should fall 
by the hands of Yankee fishermen! They must 
recapture the fortress, or the triumphant colonists 
would next be attacking Quebec. They must im- 
mediately start an expedition to Massachusetts for 
the express purpose of burning Boston, the proud- 
est city of the Bay State. 

The Yankees, however, were not accustomed to 
wait for their enemies to attack them. Boston 
Common was soon a camp for thousands of sol- 
diers gathered to defend their capital city. The 
French, notwithstanding their dire threats, never 
reached Boston; for a storm overtook their fleet, 
and dashed the proud vessels against one another 
until most of them were sunk to the bottom of the 
ocean. Hundreds of the survivors, who managed 
to get as far as Nova Scotia, perished from sick- 
ness and starvation; and only a few returned to 
France. The leader of the unlucky fleet died sud- 
denly, and the officer next in rank became delirious 
and ended his life by falling on his sword. 

Not long after, England agreed to give back 
Louisburg to France. Sir William Pepperell and 
his brave followers were much exasperated; for 
they had risked their lives and spent a million 
dollars to gain a fortress that had to be given back 



106 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

to their enemy. Their humiliation, however, was 
changed to pride when England, not long after- 
ward, secured Canada from the French. After 
all, the victory won by the Massachusetts men at 
Louisburg had not been an empty honor. More- 
over, the French war was at an end, the Indians 
had been conquered, and the Old Bay State was 
developing rapidly. 

While the Indians were spreading dire havoc, 
and the British and the French were fighting over 
Canada, the Royal Governors appointed by the 
Crown were holding high court in Boston. There 
were many of these very important Royal Gov- 
ernors; but none of them were pleasing to the 
Massachusetts people. They were stiff and 
haughty, and headed their processions to King's 
Chapel with the dignified airs of the nobility. 

The wearing of wigs had become general, at that 
time, for even the ladies of fashion were covering 
their own beautiful hair. A writer of that period 
declares that the men were much vainer than the 
women and that their vanity grew greater as their 
age advanced ; so, though wigs were denounced by 
the clergymen and the Puritans, they became more 
and more numerous at every service. Sometimes, 
the cost of the wigs and the expense of keeping 



LOUISBURG 107 

them in style reached the sum of one hundred dol- 
lars per year for each wearer. Those who could 
not afford the latest fashions from England wore 
periwigs made of horsehair, wool, thread, silk, or 
calves' tails. They were of all shapes and sizes, 
and extra puffs and bands were added as the 
fashions changed. 

The Boston News Letter contained an advertise- 
ment for a wig which had been lost in a barber 
shop.^ ''It is a flaxen, natural wig," runs the 
notice; ''and it is parted from the forehead to the 
crown. The narrow ribbon is of a red-pink color. 
The caul (a net used to confine the hair) is in rows 
of red and green silk." Now is it any wonder 
that some joker should want to steal such an 
article? 

Another luxury in dress was garters, which the 
favorites of the Governors and their many imi- 
tators found most attractive. It is said that after 
the late Sir William Phips had taken Port Royal, 
and returned to Boston in all his glory, the Gov- 
ernor of Acadia accused him of having stolen his 
garters. Gauntlets and gloves with gold fringe; 
girdles of gold and silver, with prayer-books and 
keys hanging to them; and even muffs for cold 
weather, were worn by the fashionable men in the 
circle of the Royal Governor. In the days of Gov- 



108 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

ernor Belcher, there was an excess of gold and sil- 
ver lace, and dainty cravats and ruffles. The Gov- 
ernor himself wore gold buttons and costly lace, 
jockey coats lined* with soft shalloon, black suits 
trimmed with gold, silver shoe and knee buckles, 
and red damask night-robes. 

The ladies, for a time, were satisfied with gowns 
of calico, which in those early days was considered 
a very grand material; but they had to keep up 
with the gentlemen, and, as the years rolled by, 
they wore more and more costly garments of silk 
and satin, fine lace from Flanders, furbelows, 
quilled flowers, embroidered masks, and every 
expensive style of dress that came along. The 
children dressed more simply — especially the little 
boys, who wore their long hair tied back with black 
hairbows. 

When a fashionable funeral took place, it was 
the custom for the head of the household to give 
gold or silver rings to those who attended it ; and 
it is recorded that one man collected a quart of 
funeral rings, which he bequeathed to his children. 
Governor Belcher adopted a more sensible fash- 
ion by giving away a thousand pairs of gloves at 
his wife's funeral. At Andrew Faneuil's funeral, 
it is said that three thousand pairs of mourning 
gloves were distributed to friends. 



LOUISBURG 109 

This was not, however, a frivolous age. You 
simply have been given a little peep at fashionable 
life, to prove to you that Massachusetts, in these 
early days, was not entirely the rustic settlement 
that many people suppose it was. In spite of the 
Indian wars on the frontier, great improvements 
were going on in the east. Sperm whale fishing 
began; and the laborers learned to tan their 
leather, melt their iron, and make shoes and felt 
hats. Shoe-making, by the way, became one of the 
chief industries of Massachusetts, and she is now 
making shoes for the nobility of Europe. The first 
schooner made its appearance in Boston harbor, 
and was gazed at in wonderment by the people 
on shore. In Boston, the first insurance office 
was opened; and many new lines of trade were 
established. Farming was making wonderful 
strides, the new industry of paper-making had 
sprung up at Milton, and the old thatched churches 
were being superseded by ones more befitting the 
dignity and wealth of the community. In short, 
the Great American Business had sprung from the 
crude opportunities embraced by our Pilgrim 
Fathers, and was pointing the way to our national 
prosperity.^ Still, in the dawn of the Old Bay 
State's good fortune, another danger was drawing 
near. 



CHAPTER XVni 



THE STAMP ACT 



Not for long, however, did peace continue. The 
gravest crisis in the history of the colonists was 
fast approaching — the War of the American Revo- 
lution. As usual, Massachusetts must take the 
lead, and be willing to give her best blood for the 
cause of freedom. The arrogance of England had 
become unendurable to the proud state that had 
ruled herself so many years.* 

Royal Governor Hutchinson was as heartily dis- 
liked as those who had preceded him.^ He and his 
magistrates, in their pompous wigs and gay coats, 
were haughty in their behavior. They made it 
brutally plain to the people that the English par- 
liament considered them slaves, and that they 
must obey their superiors or receive severe pun- 
ishment. 

Now Massachusetts had no respect for laws 
which she had no hand in making, so when Eng- 
land refused to let her buy sugar from the West 
Indies, she took to smuggling. Everybody — the 

110 



THE STAMP ACT 111 

old and the young, the well and the sickly — sud- 
denly grew fond of sweet things; and there had 
never been a larger demand for sugar and 
molasses. 

Next, England insisted that the colonists must 
pay their share of the expenses that had risen 
from the French and Indian War. Our proud an- 
cestors simply shrugged their shoulders in con- 
tempt. When she forbade them to buy goods 
from any but the Mother Country, they opened up 
trade with other places. They did all they could 
to defy the Crown and the Royal Governor. 

Finally, the King passed the Stamp Act, putting 
taxes on documents of all sorts.^ The colonists 
had worked too hard to accumulate money to want 
to spend it on the English government. This time 
the storm of indignation swept even to the South, 
>vhere Virginia did not hesitate to give voice to 
her displeasure. 

James Otis, of Barnstable, who with scores of 
other Massachusetts boys was starting life in Bos- 
ton, began a crusade against English tyranny.* 
While studying in the Gridley law office, he had 
been keeping his eye upon men and affairs. At the 
public indignation meetings, Otis became so strik- 
ingly eloquent that other young men were inspired 
to do as much for the cause of liberty. Although 



112 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

the Crown had made him Attorney General of the 
Province, he resigned his position and devoted his 
time to working for the liberty of his country. 

Samuel Adams, one of the many Harvard gradu- 
ates interested in the welfare of his country, came 
speedily to the front.^ His attack against England 
from the balcony of the Old State House did more 
than anything else to arouse the people to rebel- 
lion. He made a written protest against taxation 
without representation; drafted a circular letter 
to be sent out to all the colonies in America, urging 
them to join Massachusetts in making a stand for 
their rights; and suggested the forming of the 
First Continental Congress, to be represented by 
strong men from each colony. Samuel Adams 
was the ''Father of the American Revolution." 

John Adams, a Braintree boy, brought his en- 
thusiasm to the aid of his cousin, Samuel Adams, 
and to James Otis.^ No one applauded louder 
than he when Otis shouted out to his spell-bound 
audience, at the Old State House: ''Every man is 
an independent sovereign; and his right to life, 
liberty, and property cannot be taken away ! ' ' 

Old Faneuil Hall, one of the most cherished 
buildings of Boston, is still called the "Cradle of 
Liberty," because within its walls such men as 
these nursed and strengthened American Inde- 



THE STAMP ACT 113 

pendence. The fiery speeches of James Otis, ut- 
tered in the Old State House, struck the first note 
of American freedom. 

Royal Governor Hutchinson had no power to 
stay these enthusiastic meetings. His brother- 
in-law, Andrew Oliver, who had been appointed to 
distribute stamps, had a horrid time of it ; for he 
was insulted on every hand. One morning he was 
shocked to see a dummy, an effigy of himself, hang- 
ing from a branch of the famous Old Elm Tree. 
The sheriff soon appeared, and ordered it taken 
down; but to Oliver's indignation, a procession 
seized the image, and carried it into the Old State 
House, where the Governor and other officers of 
the Crown were sitting, decked in their fine robes 
of authority. 

One night, the mob became so boisterous that 
even the militia could not disperse it. Frenzied 
with hatred, hundreds of men and boys, shrieking 
louder than the Narragansetts, attacked the dwell- 
ing of William Story, a high official of the Crown, 
and did much damage. The residence of Sir 
Henry Frankland was also entered; and many 
beautiful paintings, porcelain fire-places, and 
carved mantles were mutilated. 

Then the mansion of Royal Governor Hutchin- 



114 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

son, next door, was assaulted. Furniture was 
destroyed, and everything in sight, even to a col- 
lection of rare manuscripts. Valuable dishes and 
silverware were either smashed or carried away 
with all kinds of clothing. The Governor escaped 
through a rear door to the Mather home ; but when 
the mob discovered where he was, they threatened 
to burn the residence of the people who had given 
him refuge. Half dressed and almost dead from 
exposure and fright, he was taken by friends to a 
house a long distance away. Until four in the 
morning, the excited mob destroyed property and 
insulted those who were favorable to the King. 

Now do you suppose the Massachusetts people 
approved of such conduct? Quite the contrary. 
Samuel Adams and James Otis feared that their 
cause was seriously injured. All respectable citi- 
zens regarded the mob as a crowd of demented 
hoodlums, and at a town meeting which was held 
next day, the rioters were severely censured. 
Poor Governor Hutchinson appeared in court, 
wrapped in a surtout, or loose coat. The mob had 
left him nothing else to wear. 

England soon returned to her shifty policy, and 
produced the Townshend Revenue Acts, made by 
the Royal Treasurer, Charles Townshend.'^ These 



THE STAMP ACT 115 

acts placed high duties on paper, glass, paints, tea, 
and many other articles. England had removed 
the tax on documents, against which the colonists 
had rebelled; and had placed duties on nearly 
everything else. The indignation of Samuel 
Adams and his friends can well be imagined. This 
time, no words were wasted in censure or vain ap- 
peals. Massachusetts organized her "Sons of 
Liberty," each member of which was bound by 
oath neither to receive nor ship any goods that 
were subject to taxation. When England heard of 
this latest whim of the Province, it was her turn 
to look sour. ''What will those head-strong 
people do next ! ' ' she exclaimed. Like all parents, 
she was shocked by the rebellion of her offspring. 



CHAPTER XIX 



BOSTON MASSACKE 



King William III, now on the English throne, sent 
several hundred of his British soldiers to Boston, 
in order to protect the interests of the home coun- 
try/ The old Common was bright with the glitter 
of polished arms. Its occupation by the ''Red- 
coats," however, was a great grievance to the boys 
who had always used that spot for a play-ground. 
Their fathers and mothers felt the insult in a dif- 
ferent way, for they realized that their personal 
liberty was a thing of the past. 

Many small riots occurred, which were caused 
by soldiers and sailors as well as by civilians. 
Sometimes, the disturbers fought with clubs, and 
made such a noise that the people of the town 
quaked in terror; but they Imew that they could 
do nothing to stop them, because the men who 
should protect them were the ones who were riot- 
ing. 

The Boston Massacre which soon followed was 
caused by the thoughtless remark of a boy.^ Cap- 

116 



BOSTON MASSACRE 117 

tain Goldfinch was trying to quell a disturbance 
when this barber's lad, pointing him out to an idle 
mob, shouted: — 

''There is a mean fellow that hasn't paid my 
master for curling his hair !'^ 

Captain Goldfinch turned red with anger. As 
he was a sentinel on duty, he thought he must 
avenge the insult. Springing forward, he struck 
the boy with his musket and send him sprawling 
to the ground. 

In a moment, a furious mob had surrounded the 
sentinel and was pelting him unmercifully with 
snowballs, ice, and sticks. 

"Knock him down! Kill him!'' they yelled. 

Others began jeering at the British soldiers as 
they passed in and out of the guard building, 
which stood close to the Old State House. In the 
distance, bells began to clamor as though the town 
were afire; and the crowd grew so dense, it was 
almost impossible for the soldiers to keep their 
feet. Captain Preston rushed from the Concert 
Hall to ascertain the trouble. His desire was to 
suppress the excitement ; but he knew that it was 
impossible to appeal to the reason of a mob, 
especially as none of the more cool-headed citizens 
>vere present to aid him. 

Up to this time, Henry Knox, a book- seller's 



118 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

clerk, had forbidden the soldiers to fire upon the 
defenseless crowd; and had thus delayed blood- 
shed. Captain Goldfinch was quite beside himself, 
calling the corporal to help him and gaining as 
much sympathy from the British soldiers as the 
barber's boy was receiving from the rioters. 

"Fire if you dare, you bloody-coats — you lob- 
ster-backs!" shouted the mob. 

Even then the crisis might have been avoided; 
but a stick struck one of the soldiers, and he 
reeled backward. 

There was a volley of artillery, followed by 
screams of terror. The crowd trembled, then be- 
gan to scatter in every direction. A few of the 
rioters tried to tear down the guard house, where 
Preston and his men had hidden themselves. Bells 
rang, drums beat, the crowd drew together again, 
while the disturbers carried away their dead and 
wounded. The Boston Massacre was ended, and 
the first blood of the American Revolution had 
been shed. 

When they inquired into the affair, fifteen peo- 
ple were found to be killed or injured. The first 
one to be shot down was Crispus Attucks, a 
mulatto, who had done the most to prolong the 
riot. The others who were killed were Samuel 
Gray, a rope-maker, and James Caldwell, a gentle- 




Should suuit' poor old lad.v live quietly by herself, her neij?h- 

bors would begin immediately to say that she must be a 

witch (Page 89) 



BOSTON MASSACRE 119 

man who had been merely looking on. Three boys, 
Samuel Maverick, Christopher Snider, and Pat- 
rick Carr, were mortally wounded. 

All night, the citizens of Boston writhed in 
anger. They called the British guard ''murder- 
ers," and vowed that they should be sent back to 
England. Governor Hutchinson appeared on the 
balcony of the Old State House and assured the 
people that justice would be done. Nevertheless, 
a court of inquiry was held by the leading citizens, 
and volunteers were stationed everywhere to pre- 
vent more violence, during the night. 

On the next day a town meeting was held in 
Faneuil Hall. Samuel Adams, John Hancock, 
William Phillips, Samuel Henshaw, William Mol- 
ineux, and other prominent citizens, were ap- 
pointed to confer with Governor Hutchinson. 

These patriotic men were in no mood to be 
trifled with. Samuel Adams did most of the talk- 
ing, and put it squarely to the Governor that the 
King's regiments must be removed from Boston 
at once. 

The Governor was pale and nervous — quite the 
opposite of his English body-guard, who stood 
around in their enormous wigs and bright uni- 
forms trimmed with gold and silver lace, trying 
to appear calm and contemptuous. He consulted 



120 STOKY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

a great deal with Colonel Dalrymple, his right- 
hand man. 

At first, he said that he had not the power to 
remove the troops. Whereupon, Samuel Adams 
and John Hancock assured him it would be easy 
for the men of Massachusetts to furnish the 
power. 

*'I will have one of the regiments removed,'* 
agreed the Governor, in despair. 

''You Avill have both removed, or none!" flared 
Samuel Adams. 

Finally, the Governor consented to have both 
regiments moved to the Castle in the Bay, there 
to await instructions from the King. 

Triumphantly, Samuel Adams and John Han- 
cock announced to the anxious people that the 
town of Boston would soon be free from British 
soldiers. Meetings were held in Faneuil Hall, the 
Old State House, and the Old South Meeting 
House. Brilliant speeches were made, and a gen- 
eral celebration took place. A Committee of Pub- 
lic Safety was formed, and every patriotic citizen, 
with musket and sword, was on hand to see that 
there were no more riots, and that every red-coat 
was shipped off to the Castle. 

The funerals of those killed in the Boston Mas- 
sacre were also made as impressive as possible. 



BOSTON MASSACRE 121 

Five hundred boys and girls turned out to do 
honor to young Christopher Snider, whose coffin 
was borne to the grave by six of his school-mates. 
Tolling bells and flags at half-mast announced that 
the hilarity of the citizens must be suspended until 
the services for the dead were performed. 

Nor was this all. Captain Preston was brought 
back to the city for trial, with eight of the soldiers 
who were accused of firing upon the crowd. To 
the surprise of many, John Adams and Josiah 
Quincy defended them. It is not an unusual thing 
to see brilliant lawyers chosen to defend crim- 
inals who are detested by the public. They suc- 
ceeded in having Preston and six of his soldiers 
acquitted. The other two were found guilty of 
manslaughter, and branded in the hand. 



CHAPTER XX 



BOSTON TEA PAKTY 



Now, after the firm stand that had been taken by 
the colonists, what could be more provoking than 
for Boston to behold a dozen tea vessels sailing 
impudently into her harbor! The citizens were 
again in a turmoil of indignation. Hadn't they 
sworn to accept no tea so long as there was a tax 
on it, although, even so, the price was lower to 
America than to England? Even when the East 
India Company had agreed to pay the tax, hadn't 
they still declared they would never buy it I Were 
they not fighting for principle, regardless of such 
luxuries as tea? The very idea! Everybody at 
the Green Dragon Inn and all the other meeting- 
places was talking about it. Something must 
be done again to teach England to quit med- 
dling. 

Public meetings were held, and all the leading 
patriots were present to give their views. Sam- 
uel Adams had sent word to the representative 
nen from the leading towns round about, to come 

123 



BOSTON TEA PAETY 123 

to the indignation meeting to be held in Faneuil 
Hall ; so, at the appointed time, the great building 
was thronged. 

It was agreed that the only thing to be done was 
to send th*; ships back to England, and not receive 
even a teaspoonful of tea. Then it was pointed 
out to Mr. Adams that they could not be returned 
until Governor Hutchinson should give his per- 
mission. 

A committee was sent to the Governor to get his 
consent. It was really a trying position for him, 
as he did not want to offend England, and he would 
rather have been in a nest of hornets than have 
Samuel Adams and John Hancock attack him with 
their sharp tongues. However, he declared firmly 
that he must act as the humble servant of the 
King. 

** There is a large crowd at the South Meeting 
House awaiting your answer, sir," remarked one 
of the committee. "No matter what you say, the 
tea shall not be accepted." 

* 'I will not give my consent to any such proceed- 
ing," declared Hutchinson. 

Then he locked himself up, while the committee 
hastily returned to the mass meeting. 

When they related how the Governor had re- 
fused to comply with their demand, Samuel 



124 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Adams sprang to his feet, with a look of firm de- 
termination. 

''We can do nothing more to save the country!" 
he cried. 

Savage yells arose! "Were the Narragansetts 
upon them? It would have seemed to be the 
natural conclusion, for at least sixty Indians, 
painted and befeathered, and waving their toma- 
hawks, came from all sides. Samuel Adams did 
not seem excited in the least, although, to add to 
the din, there were loud shrieks from fifes, and the 
beating of drums. 

With deafening cries that must have greatly 
alarmed the Governor, the Indians ran through 
the town and out to the wharf where the tea ves- 
sels were lying at anchor. The citizens of Boston 
followed at their heels, eager to see the outcome 
of the exciting adventure. The crew of the un- 
welcome ships did not attempt to ward off the 
savages with their tomahawks, for they knew too 
well how the American Indians hated the English. 
So they simply kept out of the way, even when the 
redskins splintered with their tomahawks and axes 
every tea-chest, and cast it overboard. By mid- 
night, the vessels were empty, and enough tea was 
floating in Boston harbor to supply the whole 
nation. Then the Indians went back to their 



BOSTON TEA PAETY 125 

homes, pulled off their feathers, washed off their 
paint, put on their night-robes and caps, and went 
to bed. To the end of time, the world will never 
know the names of those Massachusetts patriots 
who dressed themselves as Indians and gave the 
Boston Tea Party, although twelve thousand 
people attended it/ 

Great activity followed this notable event. Mili- 
tary companies began to drill, and powder was 
bought. At one of the mass meetings, Paul 
Revere, a goldsmith, was chosen to carry impor- 
tant letters to Philadelphia, explaining the stand 
for liberty taken by Massachusetts. Revere was 
a man of great endurance, and he could make the 
journey, by stage and horseback, in six days. On 
the trip, he learned that New York and Philadel- 
phia, also, had refused to accept the tea shipped 
to them, and were much amused at the way Boston 
had disposed of hers. 

When the news of the Boston Tea Party drifted 
to England, the government was greatly enraged. 
As a first step towards punishing the colonists, 
orders were sent to close the port of Boston, so 
the city could neither ship nor receive goods of 
any kind. Commerce would thus be diverted to 
other seaport towns of New England ; and Boston, 



126 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

in consequence, would lose that prestige which she 
was rapidly acquiring. By Royal Orders, Salem 
was made the capital of the Province. The King 
recalled Governor Hutchinson, and appointed in 
his stead Thomas Gage, with full power to choose 
all judges, sheriffs, and other officers.^ He also 
made a number of strict laws threatening all sorts 
of dire punishments in case the people should 
rebel. 

On the day the Boston port was closed, the bells 
tolled gloomily, and houses were draped in mourn- 
ing. The news of Boston's humiliation spread far 
and near, and the other colonies were not slow in 
expressing their sympathy; for under all differ- 
ences of opinions, the settlers were beginning to 
realize the brotherly tie which bound them 
together. So, on the day that Boston's port was 
closed, the Colony of Virginia was fasting and 
praying for her, and getting ready to send all the 
flour that could be spared. Philadelphia closed all 
places of business. South Carolina shipped two 
hundred barrels of rice. The Massachusetts towns 
provided enough sheep and fish to keep Boston idle 
for ten years. 

Salem and Marblehead might have profited 
greatly by Boston's loss ; but instead, they offered 
the stricken city the use of their own wharfs and 



BOSTON TEA PARTY 127 

warehouses. Salem did more than all others to 
sustain Boston in those terrible days. At the time 
of the great Boston fire, a hundred years later, 
she again came promptly to the aid of her sister 
city. Boston was not ungrateful, as was shown 
during the Salem fire of our own time ; for it was 
Boston who planned relief while the flames were at 
their highest. Moreover, every city in the Union 
rushed forward to do her share.^ 

The meeting of the next General Court of the 
Province was held at Salem, the new capital. 
Here, hard-working Samuel Adams succeeded in 
completing the plans for the Continental Con- 
gress, which was to meet at Philadelphia.* In 
spite of the disadvantage under which Boston was 
laboring, her energetic sons, headed by this brave 
man, had worked to join all the American colonies. 
They were, indeed, making rapid strides towards 
founding the government of the great republic of 
the future. No wonder the King set spies to watch 
the movements of Sam Adams and John Hancock ; 
for the mother country fully realized that they 
were dangerous men when it came to defending 
the rights and promoting the interests of their 
native land. 



CHAPTER XXI 



THEEATENING CLOUDS 



General Gage was the last Royal Governor of 
Massachusetts. When he arrived in Boston, guns 
were fired in salute, a procession of leading citi- 
zens conducted him to the Old State House, troops 
of horsemen saluted him, and he was lustily 
cheered by the throngs of people who had turned 
out to welcome him. After he had taken the oath 
of office, a fine dinner was given in his honor, at 
Faneuil Hall. These pleasant relations, however, 
did not last long ; for when the port of Boston was 
closed, the Governor soon found himself an object 
of contempt. The Tories — those who were in 
favor of the King — were obedient ; but the Whigs 
; — those who demanded home government and lib- 
erty—made his life a burden to him. Although he 
threatened and fumed, the plans of the Continental 
Congress were completed, and not long afterwards 
the Provincial Congress was created at Concord; 
and met, later, at Cambridge. The Massachusetts 
people heeded Governor Gage no more than if he 

138 



THEEATENING CLOUDS 129 

were the King himself. They recognized only the 
Provincial Congress, made their own laws, and 
paid no more money into the treasury of the 
Crown. 

The War for American Independence was draw- 
ing nearer and nearer. Why, under the very eyes 
of the Governor, the colonists were drilling their 
militia, storing powder at Concord and other 
places, and enrolling ''Minute Men" in all towns, 
to serve at a minute's notice. The Governor con- 
sidered that Sam Adams, John Hancock, Paul 
Kevere, Thomas Cushing, Eobert Treat Paine, and 
all that class of agitators were responsible for this 
rebellious attitude of his subjects, and he deter- 
mined to assert his authority. His first act was 
to awe the people by a sight of his army, all in 
fine trim after resting throughout the winter. So 
he commanded Lord Hugh Percy and five regi- 
ments, in glittering array, to march to Dorchester 
and Jamaica Plain. What a magnificent sight it 
was I How proudly they stepped along, to the 
music of fife and drum, their scarlet and silver 
uniforms sparkling in the spring sunshine ! They 
wore their cocked hats at the right angle, you may 
be sure; for a crooked hat might cost the owner 
five stinging lashes across the back. They were a 
bewildering array of metal laces, buttons, ribbons, 



130 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

and embroidery; but, strange to remark, the peo- 
ple were not awed, in the least. Neither were they 
flattered by their sprightly national air of 
''Yankee Doodle." The only effect was that the 
Committee of Safety was disturbed, hearing that 
the next move of the British might be in the direc- 
tion of Concord, where the Minute Men were 
guarding a store of powder. 

The first armed resistance to British authority 
was made at old Salem.^ John Foster, a citizen, 
had been setting up a number of cannon supplied 
by the Continental Congress. Some Tory tattled 
to Crovernor Gage that cannon were being erected 
in the vicinity of the town, and Colonel Leslie was 
sent with three hundred British soldiers to investi- 
gate the matter. The village of Marblehead saw 
the advancing host, and rushed off messengers to 
warn Salem. 

It was the Sabbath day when the force arrived, 
and most of the people were in church ; but they 
all came out in their best attire to meet the enemy. 
The church bells rang a warning to call out those 
who had stayed at home. A crowd gathered, 
divided in spirit between Sunday reverence and 
colonial indignation. 

Just as Colonel Leslie reached the bridge, it was 



THREATENING CLOUDS 131 

drawn up, leaving him and his force on the other 
side. 

''You might just as well make up your minds 
to hand over those cannon at once!" he shouted. 

''Come and get them," returned a patriot. 
*'They will never be surrendered." 

The commander was very angry at the insolence 
of these people whom he had come to scare ; and 
he was about to open fire, when Captain John Felt, 
one of the leading citizens, cried out in protest : — 

"If you fire, not one of you shall leave the town 
alive!" 

Leslie and his men climbed into some fishing- 
boats in order to cross the water, but the plucky 
Salemites set the boats adrift. Finally, the Rev- 
erend Thomas Bernhard prevailed upon the citi- 
zens to let the Britishers land on the other side. 
Though Leslie and his men gladly took advantage 
of this permission, it did not help them very much ; 
for when they scoured Salem, not a gun could they 
find. While the discussion had been going on, 
every cannon had been hidden ! 

In Somerville, one of Boston's famous suburbs, 
you can still see the Old Powder House, a most 
sacred and significant landmark. It is a little 
stone building, thirty feet high. Once it was a 



132 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

mill, worked by an honest man named John Mal- 
let. Many attractive legends are attached to it, 
one in particular relating to the time when Great 
Britain took Acadia from the French. Most of 
the Acadians were of French blood, and they 
hated the English so heartily that they refused to 
recognize their new masters. General John Wins- 
low, a descendant of the Mayflower Pilgrim, Gov- 
ernor Edward Winslow, received royal orders to 
go to Acadia and clear the country of its rebellious 
inhabitants. He did the deed thoroughly; for he 
separated fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters, 
put them on various sliips, and scattered them in 
English settlements all along the New England 
coast.^ 

Late one night, while Mallet was running his 
mill (now the Old Powder House) a beautiful Aca- 
dian girl sought refuge there. Before long, a 
brutal man who claimed her as his property, came 
to the old mill, and commanded Mallet to give her 
up. The girl, almost frightened to death, tried to 
escape by climbing up the ladder. The burly ruf- 
fian hastened after her, lost his footing, grasped 
a rope that was hanging there, and thus set the 
mill in motion. The next moment, he lost his hold 
and fell into the machinery, where he was ground 
to pieces. 



THREATENING CLOUDS 133 

This Powder House, once John Mallet's mill, 
had always been respected for its legends. About 
the time of the descent on Salem, the patriots of 
Massachusetts had used it for storing some am- 
munition. Governor Gage and his men stole the 
hidden supply and did some damage to the build- 
ing, which so aroused the anger of the people that 
an indignation meeting was held on Cambridge 
Common.' This was another bold and open defi- 
ance of King George III of England. 



CHAPTER XXII 

PAUL EEVEEE's ride 

Samuel Adams and John Hancock shared the dis- 
tinction of being the only two people in Massachu- 
setts that King George III desired to hang. The 
other leaders he might forgive, but these, he felt, 
had done more than their share in raising rebel- 
lion. Governor Gage, accordingly, tried his ut- 
most to capture those distinguished rebels, but 
they were too alert for him. Eventually, they 
moved out to the historic old Lexington mansion, 
now called the Hancock-Clarke house, and only a 
few of the Whigs werp allowed to know where 
they were. 

Hancock was not displeased at being compelled 
to hide himself in the home of his beloved relative, 
Jonas Clarke; for he had several entertaining 
companions. The chief of these was a visitor. 
Miss Dorothy Quincy, a pretty girl whom he loved 
devotedly. Another was a comfortable widow. 
Madam Lydia Hancock, the wife of his late uncle, 
Thomas. "With these two good friends and his 
134 



PAUL REVERE 'S RIDE 135 

best chum, Sam Adams, all gathered together with 
him under the same gambrel roof out in Lexing- 
ton, Hancock was not much worried about Gov- 
ernor Gage, nor even about King George III. 

Paul Revere, the copper engraver and gold- 
smith, came occasionally to bring them news of the 
British, who seemed to be planning an attack of 
some kind. Revere was one of the most active 
scouts that ever lived. He was as fleet of foot as a 
Mohawk Indian, and he could ride a horse as 
gracefully as any of the King's cavaliers. "When 
Massachusetts had boldly established her own 
mint, it was talented Paul Revere who had en- 
graved the copper plates. Later in his life, this 
picturesque character, who worked so hard for the 
freedom of our country, became wealthy, and 
started the first mill for the making of sheet cop- 
per. 

From what Paul Revere and other scouts re- 
ported, Hancock and Adams rightly judged that 
Gage would attack the military stores at Lexing- 
ton and Concord. Perhaps, they might seize the 
leaders of the rebellion, too. Some preparation 
seemed necessary, so the new army — part of the 
soldiers in uniforms of buff and blue, but the most 
of them in plain home-spun garments — were or- 
dered to hold themselves in readiness. The min- 



136 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

ute men, too, were told to keep one eye open while 
they slept. At Concord and Lexington, the little 
group of defenders was always on duty, watching 
over their hidden stores of supplies and prepar- 
ing for defense. No heroes deserve greater 
credit ; for though they were few in number, they 
bravely faced the ranks of the enemy, with only 
their muskets to protect them. 

Jeremiah Page, of Danvers, organized a body of 
minute men at his own home, and made them an- 
swer promptly whenever he called them, or pay a 
fine. It is not surprising that he became a cap- 
tain of great renown during the revolution that 
followed. Perhaps he was more devoted to the 
cause of liberty than charming Mrs. Page, who 
was known to have served tea on the roof of her 
mansion at a time when her husband would not 
permit her to serve it in the house. 

Another famous organizer of minute men was 
a school-master named Peleg Wadsworth, whose 
daughter, Zilpah, married Stephen Longfellow 
and became mother of Henry Wadsworth Long- 
fellow, one of the greatest poets our nation has 
produced. By brilliant service during the revolu- 
tion that followed, Peleg Wadsworth became a 
general of high standing. 

Now, during all this preparation for defense. 



PAUL REVERE 'S RIDE 137 

Governor Gage was out in the Castle laying plans 
and giving directions to his followers. One night, 
he sent a part of his army to seize the military 
stores at Lexington and Concord just as Adams 
and Hancock had predicted. The Governor 
thought none of the Massachusetts patriots would 
be awake, and that he would have no trouble in 
ending the mutiny that night ; but he did not know 
how deep the seeds of rebellion were rooted. 

Dr. Joseph Warren, the great orator and agi- 
tator, heard of Gage's plan through one of the 
* ' Patriot Patrols. ' ' He realized at once that there 
was not a minute to be lost. He quickly ordered 
two of the thirty patrolmen, Paul Revere and 
William Dawes, to warn the farmers of Middle- 
sex that the British were coming. They were to 
go by different routes, and one of them was to stop 
long enough to tell Sam Adams and John Hancock 
to hide themselves. 

At that moment, eight hundred of Gage's sol- 
diers, under the command of Colonel Smith, were 
getting into boats to go to Cambridge. They 
moved through the darkness in complete silence. 
Like shadows, they marched through the town and 
out to West Cambridge, where they stopped at a 
tavern. The rebels had held a meeting there the 
day before, and Smith thought it possible that 



138 STOKY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

some of the leaders might have remained over 
night, in which case he expected to capture them 
in their beds. Sure enough, Colonel Azor Orne, 
Colonel Jeremiah Lee, and Colonel Elbridge 
Gerry, three very active revolutionists, were there, 
together with several other officers. When they 
heard the hundreds of British soldiers entering 
the tavern, they leaped from their beds and out of 
the windows, and scurried to a stubble field, where 
they hid themselves. Not one of them was cap- 
tured.^ 

Colonel Smith sent back to Governor Gage for 
more men, as he realized that the secret was out, 
and that they might meet with strong resistance ; 
but owing to blunders on the part of the British, 
Colonel Smith and his eight hundred followers had 
to press on to Lexington alone. 

Meanwhile, William Dawes and Paul Revere 
were racing furiously to warn the neighboring 
towns that the British were coming. Revere had 
been rowed across the river in a boat, by Josiah 
Bentley and Thomas Richardson, just a few min- 
utes before General Gage had issued strict orders 
for his guards to permit no one to leave Boston. 
Revere had told some friends at Charlestown that 
if the British should leave Boston by land, a lan- 
tern would be placed in the belfry of Christ 



PAUL REVERE 'S RIDE 139 

Church, now better known as the Old South 
Church. If, on the contrary, the British should go 
by water, two lanterns would appear. His 
Charlestown friends had read the signal flashed 
in Christ Church belfry before Revere arrived. 
No time was to be lost, for Gage's soldiers would 
shortly reach Cambridge. Seizing the bridle of a 
swift horse, which his friends had ready for him, 
Revere threw himself into the saddle and dashed 
away. The night was dark; but before he had 
finished his memorable ride, the moon was brightly 
shining. 

On this eventful night, Paul Revere proved to 
the world that he was made of as strong mate- 
rial as the cannon and church bells he manufac- 
tured ; but he was no braver than his companion, 
William Dawes, the other patrolman who started 
with him to make the perilous ride. On their way, 
they met Dr. Samuel Prescott jogging along con- 
tentedly on his gray horse. He had just been to 
see his girl, and was in a mood for adventure. He 
agreed to take up a different route from theirs, 
and call all the farmers to arms. Dr. Samuel 
Prescott was the only one of the three who made 
the complete ride, and carried the warning 
through to Concord. 

Before the three had separated, they were sud- 



140 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

denly surrounded by four mounted British offi- 
cers. Prescott urged his horse over a stone wall, 
and hurried on. The others were chased until a 
farm-house appeared in view. It is said that 
Dawes had the wit to scare away his pursuers by 
crying out : — 

^' Hello, boys — come on! Here are some Brit- 
ish soldiers for you!" 

Paul Revere was several times pursued and 
questioned by British spies and sentinels. Once an 
officer seized him, and calling him by name placed a 
pistol to his head and said he would blow out 
his brains unless he told him the truth. Revere 
confessed that he had been spreading the alarm 
to the people of Middlesex, and that the officer 
would better release him, as five hundred farmers 
were already in arms. Nothing, however, checked 
his onward flight, and, at last, he made his way 
through a lonely burial ground to the Clarke 
home at Lexington where Sam Adams and John 
Hancock were staying. 

It took Revere a long time to convince these men 
that their safety was of more importance to the 
people than their resisting power. At last, young 
Lowell, Hancock's clerk, added his entreaties to 
Revere 's, and persuaded the two great leaders of 
Massachusetts to take refuge in the neighboring 



PAUL REVERE 'S RIDE 141 

village of Burlington. You can imagine the fond 
good-by that Hancock gave to pretty Dorothy 
Quincy before he left her. This brave young girl 
remained unalarmed until a bullet whizzed past 
her, as she and Madam Hancock were looking out 
of a window. Then they were hurried into the 
Hancock coach, and were taken to the home of 
Mrs. Jones, the widow of Reverend Thomas Jones, 
of Burlington. 

Here there was a happy meeting between John 
Hancock and Dorothy Quincy; and Madam Han- 
cock added to the general rejoicing by producing 
a fine fish which John had given her the day be- 
fore. She had possessed the presence of mind to 
bring it along on her flight from Lexington. The 
next day, good Widow Jones cooked the fish, and 
they were about to sit down to a jolly meal when 
new patrolmen arrived and warned Hancock and 
Adams to flee instantly. So the pleasant dinner 
party was broken up, and the ladies were removed 
to an obscure house in Billerica, where they were 
served salt pork and boiled potatoes on a wooden 
tray. 

Paul Revere is said to have been mainly respon- 
sible for the rescue of these greatest of all Whigs, 
on that terrible night when the British were 
marching on Lexington. Having finished the task 



142 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

of getting them safely housed in Burlington, he 
continued his dangerous journey. In the words 
of Longfellow: — 

' * So through the night rode Paul Revere ; 
And so through the night went his cry of alarm 
To every Middlesex village and farm, — 
A cry of defiance and not of fear, 
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door, 
And a word that shall echo f orevermore ! 
For, borne on the night-wind of the past, 
Through all our history, to the last, 
In the hour of darkness and peril and need, 
The people will waken and listen to hear 
The hurrying hoof -beats of that steed, 
And the midnight message of Paul Revere."^ 



CHAPTER XXIII 

LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 

Lexington was fully prepared to meet her foe. 
Captain John Parker had assembled his militia, 
which boasted of one hundred and thirty men. 
They stood with loaded muskets through many 
tiresome hours waiting for the leisurely approach 
of the British troops. At last, Captain Parker 
dismissed them, ordering them to come together 
again when summoned to the Common by the beat- 
ing of a drum. He sent his scouts in all directions, 
and told them to make frequent reports at Lexing- 
ton. The advancing Britishers, however, cap- 
tured all but Thaddeus Bowman, who came gal- 
loping back to the Common, shouting that the 
enemy was at hand. 

The drum began to beat, and the militia hurried 
back to Captain Parker. Bells rang and guns 
were fired, rousing the village to action. It was 
now daylight, and Sergeant William Munroe be- 
gan to form the minute men in two ranks, north of 
the meeting house. Soon they could see Colonel 
Smith and his grenadiers, re-enforced by Major 
Pitcairn, approaching in the distance. With calm, 
143 



144 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

deliberate tread, the British troops marched into 
the village and faced the minute men. 

*'Do not fire until you are forced to do so," com- 
manded Captain Parker, bravely standing his 
ground. 

'^Lay down your arms, you rebels!" thundered 
Pitcairn. ' * Why don 't you lay down your arms ? ' ' 

There was no reply. The patriots stood reso- 
lutely by their guns, awaiting the attack. Finally, 
there came a flash of powder and several loud re- 
ports from the British ranks, although Major Pit- 
cairn declared afterwards that he had given no 
order to fire. Both sides wavered for an instant, 
in the first shock of battle. Then the English be- 
gan rapid firing, and the minute men were prompt 
to respond. They soon discovered that a little 
band of men, however active, cannot stand against 
a well-drilled host of soldiers ; for the minute men 
were quickly overcome, several of them giving up 
their lives in the cause of freedom. The English, 
cheering loudly, fired a volley on Lexington Com- 
mon. Colonel Smith with the main army joined 
Pitcairn and his men, and on they marched to Con- 
cord.^ 

Long before daybreak. Dr. Preseott, on his 
gray horse, had warned the people of Concord 



LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 145 

that the British were coming. Colonel Barrett 
saw to it that the powder store was hidden, and 
that all his men were ready to fight. Minute men 
from Lincoln, Acton, Reading, Billerica, Medf ord, 
Chelmsford, and other towns joined them; and to 
the beating of the drum and the ringing of the 
church bell, they assembled on the Common. 

For hours they waited.* During that time, they 
heard the firing at Lexington, but could not learn 
anything in regard to the fate of the town. They 
made up their minds then that, even though Lex- 
ington might be wiped from the earth, they would 
defend the honor of their own community. They 
decided to leave the Common, and form ranks on 
a hill back of the village. 

When they saw the redcoats coming down the 
Lexington road, the spunky minute men wanted to 
scatter them at once ; but Colonel Barrett, like the 
commander at Lexington, ordered them to remain 
quiet until the enemy should begin the attack. 

With unwavering step, the British marched into 
Concord. They destroyed stores of flour and other 
provisions; cannon were hammered and broken, 
wooden trenchers and spoons smashed to bits, and 
ammunition carried away. When they began to 
pull up the planks of the bridge, the minute men 
could stand it no longer. Colonel Barrett sent 



146 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Major John Butterick and a large force to lead 
their advance. The British fired upon them, and 
three of the rebels fell to the earth, all of them 
Acton men. They were Captain Davis, Abner 
Hosmer, and Luther Blanchard, a fif er. 

In his excitement, Major Butterick shouted out 
the command : — 

"Fire, fellow soldiers ! For God's sake, fire !" 

They were not slow to obey. A volley rang out, 
and one Britisher was killed and nine more 
wounded. The others flew back to the main army, 
in the village. The minute men crossed the bridge 
and took their stand at a safe distance. During 
the pillage to which the town was subjected, the 
house of Colonel Barrett was invaded. Provi- 
sions, including Mrs. Barrett's fine cakes and 
other delicacies, were devoured ; but the good lady 
made no protest. They wanted to pay her for 
the food, but she refused the money. 

'*We are commanded to feed our enemy if he 
hunger," she said. 

The British army had a terrible march back to 
Boston; for those three rough-riders, Prescott, 
Dawes, and Revere, with a host of couriers, had 
warned the entire countryside. Minute men 
sprang up in every quarter, and without a leader, 
pressed forward to lend their services to the na- 



LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 147 

tion. They attacked the British regulars wher- 
ever they found them, harassing their ranks and 
cutting off stragglers until the march home re- 
sembled a rout. 

Colonel Smith and his main army returned from 
Concord to Lexington, where they rested until 
Lord Percy, with fresh troops from Boston, came 
to escort them back. Before long, instead of 
marching with stately dignity, the British were 
scattering like so many frightened squirrels, while 
from behind trees and walls and bushes came the 
deadly shots of minute men. Major Pitcairn was 
wounded, and fell from his splendid horse into a 
heap by the roadside. About the same time, one 
of the redcoats spied James Hayward, a minute 
man, and ran tow^ards him with leveled gun. 

"You're a dead man!" cried the Britisher, 
firing. 

"So are you," replied Hayward, returning the 
shot. 

Both fell dead. 

All along the line, and everywhere else, the 
people of Massachusetts were rising to strike the 
^rst united blow for American Independence. 
Stories are told of a party of men of Menotomy, 
who were too old to go to war. They were sitting 
in a barn discussing events, when they heard 



148 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

wagon-wheels, and voices they knew must be Eng- 
lish. Peering out, they saw eighteen belated sol- 
diers, with supplies for their comrades at Lexing- 
ton. Before anyone really knew what was hap- 
pening, the old gentlemen had fired volley after 
volley from the stone wall near by. Several of 
the enemy were wounded, and the others ran away 
in all directions, not one stopping to inquire into 
the matter. On that same night, an old lady also 
captured several British spies; and Samuel 
Whittemore, who had lived his four score years, 
and was lame and almost blind, victoriously fought 
a party of regulars who had attempted to capture 
him. So much for the brave old men and women of 
that time! With such fighting blood, Massachu- 
setts was bound to hold a proud position in the 
Revolutionary War. 

Amos Wyman, of Woburn, might be called the 
first trick rider. His game was to fall from his 
white horse near some straggling Britisher; and, 
when the unsuspecting soldier hurried forward to 
capture him, he would shoot him down. This feat 
he repeated many times, and did his share toward 
securing American Independence. 

Thankful, indeed, were the routed British when 
they arrived in Boston, with their dead and 
wounded. Handsome Lord Percy, who had led hia 



LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 149 

battalion forth with such impressive dignity, was 
almost as bedraggled as Colonel Smith and his 
men. Governor Gage, angry and amazed, pre- 
pared to deal the most deadly vengeance on the 
colonists. The colonists were preparing, too. 

That same night, a party of Boston school-boys 
were getting their first taste of war, over in Cam- 
bridge. In the morning, they had gathered in the 
school-room in ScoUay Square, Boston, where 
severe Master Carver, their teacher, was trying to 
keep their minds upon their lessons. Little Har- 
rison Gray Otis, nine years old, a member of the 
famous Otis family, came in late. 

''Why are you late?" demanded Master Carver 
sternly. 

"I would have been on time," explained the boy, 
strangely excited; **only as I was trying to cross 
Tremont Street, the soldiers came along, and a cor- 
poral wouldn't let me pass; so I had to come 
around through Court Street." 

Just then a boy who had been sent out to get 
the latest news, returned and whispered to the 
teacher. 

"Put away your books, boys," commanded Car- 
ver. **The war has begun, and school is ended." 

It did not take them long to obey ; for you know 



150 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

how boys like a spring vacation. Several of the 
class went out in the street, where they found 
enough excitement to satisfy them. Lord Percy, 
young and majestic, was riding along on a white 
horse ; and gay cavaliers in bright costumes were 
filling the narrow thoroughfares. The English 
were making another display, and the citizens 
were alarmed. The boys were very glad to be out 
of the dingy school-room, so unlike the pleasant 
school buildings of to-day. They disliked the 
smoky windows and sanded floors, and wanted to 
hurry to some wild free place where they could 
yell as loudly as they wished. Perhaps, some of 
them bought checkerberry candy or big oysters, 
which street-venders sold at the price of two for a 
penny. 

At any rate, a few of them went over to Cam- 
bridge Common, to have a romp. They looked 
with awe at the handsome residence which the 
presidents of Harvard College occupied for one 
hundred and twenty years. It was a noted man- 
sion visited by all the great men of the time, even 
to the Royal Governors. There were students 
walking about, some in blue-gray coats, and others 
in long gowns and caps. Some were dandies in 
cocked hats and shoes with pointed toes; while 
others wore top boots with silken linings. As it 



LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 151 

was comfortable weather, some had changed from 
woolen to calico and gingham suits, which at that 
time were fashionable ; and all wore knee breeches. 

For hours, the boys played happily on Cam- 
bridge Common. Strange to say, they forgot 
about the trouble with the English. At sunset, 
however, they heard shooting in the distance. In 
alarm, they hastened to a small hill, in time to see 
the worn-out British returning from Concord and 
Lexington. They had been marching for hours, 
and at that time, were running as fast as they 
could to escape the bullets of minute men and 
other patriots, who were attacking them from the 
rear. 

In the commotion that followed, the boys could 
not get back to Boston. Farmer Hastings gave 
them a big supper, and they spent the night in the 
Harvard dormitory. The sleeping-rooms of the 
students in those days contained pine bedsteads, 
home-made rugs, plain chairs and tables, open fire- 
places, and candles. Although the boys thought 
the place very fine indeed, they preferred to go 
home ; but the next day, when the American camp 
was established at Cambridge, they were taken 
prisoners. There they remained until the red- 
coats were driven from Boston. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

BIETH OF THE AMERICAN AEMY 

How the valiant fighters for liberty worked during 
the days and nights that followed! Hardly had 
the smoke of Lexington and Concord cleared away 
than the Committee of Safety began to enlist men 
and hurry them on to the new headquarters estab- 
lished at Cambridge, where General William 
Heath and others were working almost beyond en- 
durance/ Plain, substantial citizens were placed 
in positions of trust, and in time became generals 
known all over the world. Artemas Ward, a 
Shrewsbury man, was placed in charge of the 
forces gathering in Cambridge.^ He really gave 
form to the American Army, although he knew 
nothing of conventional uniforms and expert 
drills. It may please you to know that before 
this great War of the Revolution had progressed 
far, Artemas Ward was made Major General of 
the Continental Army, second only in command to 
General George Washington. 
Dr. William Eustis, a student under Dr. Joseph 

152 



BIRTH OF AMERICAN ARMY 153 

Warren, in Boston, was one of the Lexington min- 
ute men. He was appointed surgeon of his regi- 
ment, and very ably did he do his duty. Dr. 
Joseph Warren and William Prescott became high 
officers; and you shall hear more about them in 
the near future.^ Captain John Glover, of Marble- 
head, a shoemaker and fisherman, began to organ- 
ize a regiment, and was one of the first to offer his 
services.* Glover's four hundred followers were 
in fine condition and quite ready to fight ; and the 
Provincial Congress were so much pleased with 
his pluck and promptness that they, at once, made 
him colonel. 

Samuel Sampson, of Kingston, was the first cap- 
tain in the Massachusetts Naval Service ap- 
pointed by the Provincial Congress. Elbridge 
Gerry, of Marblehead — said to be the first indi- 
vidual to denounce the English rule, in public, — 
also lent his aid at this anxious time.^ You may 
be glad to learn that Elbridge Gerry became so 
noted for his sound judgment and his innate 
ability that he was elected Governor of Massachu- 
setts, a few years later ; and when he had passed 
through his term of office with great distinction, 
he was made Vice-President of the United States, 
with President James Madison. 

William Shepard, a Boston boy, entered the new 



154 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

army at the age of seventeen. It is said that he 
engaged in twenty-two fierce fights, and came out 
of them much improved in health and spirits. His 
people rewarded his valor by sending him to Con- 
gress. James Bowdoin, of Boston, lent his bril- 
liant brain and strong right arm to the cause. In 
honor to his memory, one of the leading colleges 
of Maine was named for him. 

Among all these brave men, we must not forget 
Israel Putnam, affectionately called **01d Put" 
by the men who knew and loved him best.® Put- 
nam was born near Newburyport; but moved to 
Salem, where he and his wife, formerly Hannah 
Pope, spent some very happy days. 

''Old Put" was plowing when he heard the 
first shots fired for American Independence. 
Leaving his plow in the furrow, he hurried to 
the house and prepared for battle. War attracted 
him; for he was most courageous, and was known 
to have once crawled into a den to kill a wolf. 
This foolhardy act happened while he was farm- 
ing down in Pomfret, Connecticut. One night, 
seventy of his sheep were killed. Putnam learned 
that a savage wolf had been the terror of that part 
of the colony for many years. His neighbors said 
they were unable to capture or to kill the dreadful 



BIRTH OF AMERICAN ARMY 155 

beast, and as a result their live stock were being 
continually attacked. Prompt in action, Israel 
Putnam set out with a party of armed men and 
a pack of bloodhounds. At last, they sighted the 
wolf as she was about to creep into her rocky den 
on the Connecticut river. The dogs seized her; 
but she fought with such venom that they all ran 
away, dripping with blood and badly frightened. 
Then she hurried into her dark retreat. 

The men thrust straw, hot coals, and sul- 
phur into the opening; but the wolf remained 
quiet. 

**It seems that neither the fumes of the sul- 
phur nor the heat of the blazing rubbish can harm 
her," said one of the men. 

Then they fired their muskets into the passage, 
but there was no sound from its black depths. 

At last Putnam grew excited. 

**Put this long rope around my waist," he com- 
manded. ''Don't pull me out until I give a signal. 
Give me my gun." 

To their horror, he climbed into the cavern. 

Picking up a burning fagot, he turned to ex- 
amine the place. There in a corner crouched the 
wolf, her fiery eyes fixed savagely upon him. 
Just as she sprang, with a fearful howl, Putnam 
fired. Then he pulled the rope, and the men 



156 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

hastily drew him from the fume-laden den. "Old 
Put" was dragging the wolf by the tail. 

"When a thing is to be done, let it be done at 
once. Moreover, do it yourself," was an axiom 
that Israel Putnam always respected. 

So you can imagine when the patriots saw this 
cool and determined man coming to lead the un- 
trained soldiers of New England, they felt sure 
of victory. By this time, thousands of patriots 
were arming themselves, and Boston was declared 
to be in a state of siege. Gage enforced martial 
law, and sent to England for more soldiers. Be- 
fore the patriots on Cambridge Common could 
receive help from Virginia and other colonies, 
some very important skirmishes took place. 

One of these was at Chelsea, a few weeks after 
the battles at Lexington and Concord. The scene 
of the disturbance was Powder Horn Hill, which 
was bought from the Indians for a horn of pow- 
der. Some British troops, while hunting supplies 
around Boston, came up Chelsea creek, in the 
sloop Diana. They intended to steal some sheep, 
and attack the store of ammunition, which was 
under guard. Unfortunately for them, such brave 
men as Putnam, Warren, Dearborn, and several 
hundred others were there to protect Chelsea. 



BIRTH OF AMERICAN ARMY 157 

There was much shooting at Newgate House, but 
no one was killed. While the citizens were saving 
hundreds of sheep near by, other patriotic leaders 
chased the Diana down the creek, to return to 
Chelsea no more. 

All these were but mild encounters, however, 
compared to the most thrilling engagement of the 
Revolutionary War, which was now at hand. 



CHAPTER XXV 



BUNKER HILL 



Now you shall hear of the Battle of Bunker Hill, 
which was the longest step towards releasing our 
country from the rule of England. Lexington, 
Concord, and all the preceding conflicts of the 
Revolution had but strengthened the determina- 
tion of the camp on Cambridge Common to strike 
a desperate blow for freedom. In this great strug- 
gle, amid the roar of artillery and the storm of 
shot and shell, the colonists and their enemies 
grappled man with man in defense of their honor 
and the principles for which they were willing 
to die. 

Hearing that General Gage was to occupy a 
commanding position at Dorchester, the Revolu- 
tionists decided that it would be an advantage to 
fortify Bunker Hill, the highest point near Bos- 
ton. So, one night in mid-June, a body of soldiers, 
under Colonel William Prescott, was chosen to 
make entrenchments. President Langdon, of Har- 
vard College, pronounced God's blessing upon 

158 



BUNKER HILL 159 

them, after which they marched quietly away to 
Charlestown, headed by two sergeants with dark 
lanterns. 

When they arrived at the chosen spot and looked 
over the lay of ground, they determined to fortify 
Breed's Hill instead of Bunker Hill, as the former 
was nearer to Boston. Under cover of darkness, 
they dug trenches and erected forts. Captain Sam- 
uel Gridley planning the fortifications and direct- 
ing the work; while General Prescott, his blue 
military coat laid aside, labored strenuously with 
those doing the hardest tasks. A little later. Gen- 
eral Israel Putnam and Major John Brooks ar- 
rived, and joined the six hundred at work. They 
were soon followed by General Thomas with his 
Rhode Island and Connecticut troops, and Colonel 
Reed with his New Hampshire regiment. These 
men had brought blankets along, and were able to 
take a little rest. 

Then, at half past four, in the dim morning 
light, the British were amazed by the sight of the 
new fortifications. 

''How could those Yankees fortify a place so 
close to Boston without our knowing it?" they 
asked one another. 

Immediately, an English vessel called "Lively 
Captain Linzee," came up the river and began 



160 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

firing at the works. Captain Linzee was very- 
angry at the advantage gained by the colonists; 
and of all men in the world, General Prescott was 
the one he most desired to kill. Strangely enough, 
two generations later, the General's grandson, 
William Hickling Prescott, the historian, married 
Captain Linzee 's grand-daughter. The swords 
which these two heroes carried at Bunker Hill 
were crossed on the library wall of the Prescott 
home, and so remained until placed in the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Library. , 

While the ''Lively" was firing, General Pres- 
cott coolly walked the parapet, overseeing the men 
who were putting the last touches to the fortifica- 
tions. In truth, the task had been a stupendous 
one. General Joseph Warren, General Seth Pom- 
eroy of Northampton, and General Putnam, 
were almost exhausted from their labors, not- 
withstanding the fact that with only fifteen 
hundred men they must soon engage in severe 
battle. 

It would seem that the odds were all against 
the small band of untrained fighters. They had 
but little ammunition, and many of them were 
scantily supplied with bullets made from melted 
candlesticks and the iron weights of windows and 
clocks. Colonel John Stark and his New Hamp- 



BUNKER HILL 161 

shire men were poorly clad, yet they took their 
places at the rail fence, as brave as though they 
were protected by a fort. There was no thought 
of defeat. 

Then came the flower of the British army to 
attack the patriots on Breed's Hill. Cool, confi- 
dent, and light-footed, they left the boats and 
formed in ranks. Their bright uniforms, banners, 
and polished weapons gleamed in the sunshine. 
They largely outnumbered the patriots, and were 
further protected by their war-ships. Where 
were Generals Clinton and Burgoyne? On Copp's 
Hill, a long distance away — looking on. Where 
was Governor Gage ? Safe in the tower of Christ 
Church, in Boston, — also looTiing on. 

'*Do not waste your ammunition, boys," com- 
manded General Prescott. **Do not fire until you 
can see the whites of their eyes." 

Up the hill charged the British. When a few 
rods away, General Prescott gave the word, and 
the patriots began shooting. The British wavered 
and fell back under those terrible volleys. Then 
they charged again with all their strength. Men 
fell wounded or dead, and their comrades rushed 
over their bodies. 

''Fight on, my brave fellows, for the salvation 
of your country!" cried General Warren, as 



162 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

he fell, bleeding and dying. Truly, they 
obeyed him; for twice more they repulsed the 
British. 

The Lively and the Falcon drew nearer, and 
with deadly cannon swept the ground in front 
of the hill, to dislodge the patriots. Major Gen- 
eral Howe, of the British forces, fought brilliantly, 
and kept his men from retreating. Major Pitcairn 
fell dead, amid a host of his followers. At the rail 
fence, the ground was strewn with the lifeless 
bodies of New England patriots. Then, when the 
first great battle of the Revolution was at its 
height, and the Americans fighting so splendidly 
that success seemed sure, a cry of dismay was 
heard : — 

"Our ammunition is exhausted!" 

Rallying their forces, however, they fought with 
stones and sticks and the butts of their guns; 
while, to make it all the more horrible, the British 
battery on Copp's Hill opened fire on the lovely 
little city of Charlestown, and soon the flames 
had destroyed four hundred dwellings. 

In the final struggle, brave General Putnam 
tried to organize the scattered patriot forces on 
the higher ground of Bunker Hill, near by, but the 
onslaught of the re-inforced British army was too 
great. The Provincials fled over Charlestown 



BUNKER HILL 163 

Neck, while the British cannonaded them without 
mercy. 

The British won the Battle of Bunker Hill, but 
that disastrous victory led to their losing the 
Thirteen American Colonies.^ 

One of the first things a boy or girl visiting Bos- 
ton wishes to see is Bunker Hill Monument. Each 
year, on the seventeenth of June, the citizens of 
Charlestown hold a celebration in memory of the 
first great battle for American Independence, 
which was really fought on Breed's Hill. The 
governor of the state, the mayor of Boston, sol- 
diers, sailors, and school-children, led by bands 
playing patriotic airs, march around the noble 
obelisk, and pay fitting tribute to the dead. 

The fir^t Bunker Hill monument was erected by 
King Solomon's Lodge of Freemasons, at Charles- 
town.^ It was a wooden structure topped with a 
gilded urn. Later, Dr. John C. Warren, a grand- 
son of General Warren, purchased three acres of 
land on the summit of the hill. The Bunker Hill 
Monument Association was formed, and a prize 
was offered for the best design. It was won by 
Horatio Greenough, a Harvard student; while 
Samuel Willard was chosen to be architect. 

King Solomon's Lodge laid the corner-stone, 



164 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

which marks the spot where brave General Wat- 
ren fell. On this occasion, General Lafayette and 
other celebrated men were present. It took many- 
years to raise enough money to complete the 
work; but the Association was helped by some 
patriotic Massachusetts women who held a fair in 
Quincy Market, Boston, at which they raised 
thirty thousand dollars. 

When you are in the Hub City, you must be sure 
to go to this historic battle-ground, and see the 
statues of some of .the brave heroes who made the 
place famous. You must also climb the winding 
stairs that lead to the summit of the monument, 
and gaze out upon the wonderful city of Boston 
and her many charming suburbs. 




This brave young girl remained unalarmed until a bullet 
whizzed past her and Madame Hancock (Page l+l) 



CHAPTER XXVI 



THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 



Four days after the Battle of Bunker Hill, Colonel 
John Glover marched his regiment to Cambridge, 
where seventeen thousand patriots had already 
assembled. Loud applause greeted him as he 
turned into the Common. He was the first officer 
of the army to don a complete uniform; and his 
men were smart and altogether pleasing in blue 
jackets with leather buttons. 

When General George "Washington arrived, a 
great celebration took place on Cambridge Com- 
mon.^ Headquarters were established for him in 
the famous Craigie house. Under the historic 
wide-spreading elm, near the Common, he took 
formal command of the Continental Army. He 
began at once to drill his soldiers and get them 
in condition for speedy fighting. He, also, 
blockaded Boston and laid plans for her cap- 
ture. 

He was much pleased with the dapper sailor- 
soldiers of Colonel Glover, and re-organized them 
165 



166 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

as the Fourteenth Continental Regiment. In all 
emergencies, these men could be depended upon, 
by land or sea ; and General Washington required 
their constant service. Not long afterwards, he 
appointed Colonel Glover to equip and man the 
war vessels that had been prepared. 

About this time, England recalled Governor 
Gage, and sent General Howe to take his place. 
During the Siege of Boston, the British soldiers 
spent their time enjoying themselves. They went 
to balls and parties tendered by the prominent 
Tory families of the city; and, in return, gave 
amusing plays, which took up most of their time. 
The Old South Meeting House was turned into a 
riding-school, and the fine old pulpit and pews 
were ruined by knives and axes. 

These British soldiers and their Tory friends 
were quite different in appearance from the plain, 
patriotic Whigs. Although the seniors of Har- 
vard chose to graduate in cheap, home-spun 
clothes, the gay young Tories of Boston dressed 
and acted, as much as possible, like the English. 
Such a display of crimson, blue, or purple coats ; 
white or buff satin waistcoats, tight satin breeches, 
cocked hats, powdered wigs, silver buckles, and 
embroidered ruffles ! The ladies were doing their 
best to dress equally well. Such full and sweep- 



THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 167 

ing gowns of brocaded silk and satin ! Such pow- 
dering of hair and tinting of complexions, and 
coquettish placing of little black gum-patches on 
their pretty faces! They were quite sure that 
England would speedily overpower the rebels, and 
for the time being, there really was nothing for 
them to do but enjoy themselves by entertaining 
the homesick British soldiers. 

Meanwhile, Washington was in touch with the 
entire Continental Army. Even Virginia, the 
royal pet, was staunch and true to the cause of 
the Massachusetts patriots. Washington equipped 
his soldiers to the best of his ability, and also, 
looked after them when they were sick; for he 
appointed Isaac Foster of Charlestown, Director 
General of the Military Hospital Service for the 
entire American army. 

On his birthday. General Washington received 
a present that cheered his heart. General Henry 
Knox, the book-seller who had distinguished him- 
self at the Boston Massacre and, afterwards, at 
Bunker Hill, came to see him, and with his usual 
modesty presented the General with fifty cannon 
which he and his helpers had brought safely on 
sleds across the snow and ice. They, also, had 
brought enough ammunition and supplies to last 
the American Army all winter. The friendship 



168 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

of General Washington for Henry Knox endured 
as long as Washington lived. Not long after, 
Knox was made Commander of Artillery in 
New York, and rose to the title of Major Gen- 
eral. 

Washington's days were indeed busy; but his- 
tory records that he and some of his ofiScials occa- 
sionally would spend a leisure hour with Molly 
Pitcher, a noted fortune-teller living in the thriv- 
ing town of Lynn. It is said that Molly predicted 
wonderful victories for the American Army, most 
of which came true. 

''Captain Molly" was one of the many heroines 
of those stirring days of the Revolution, but par- 
ticularly was she kno^vn as the "Heroine of Mon- 
mouth." During the battle at that place, she was 
carrying water to the men of Proctor's battery. 
As she neared the side of her husband, who was 
ramming a charge into his field-piece, a ball 
crushed his skull. He fell dead at her feet. 

''Lie there, my darling," she exclaimed, "till I 
avenge your death ! ' ' 

She took charge of the field-piece, and through- 
out that bloody afternoon of hot July, "Captain 
Molly" remained at her post, fighting the enemy 
of her country, while the corpse of her husband 
lay almost at her feet. The touching story was 



THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 169 

related to General Washington, and he commis- 
sioned her a sergeant, and placed her on the list of 
half-pay officers for life. 

Captain William Blackler, of the famous Glover 
regiment, was also much beloved by Washington ; 
and during the brilliant engagements that took 
place outside of New England, he was always 
within easy reach of his superior officer. It was 
he that commanded the boat in wliich General 
Washington crossed the Delaware. 
, Three brave sailors from Marblehead were, 
also, frequently eulogized by Washington. The 
first of these, Commander Samuel Tucker, was a 
daring sea-fighter who captured forty prizes. 
Commander John Manley sailed the first schooner 
of the first fleet, created by the Provincial Con- 
gress to protect the coast and prevent the landing 
of supplies for the British. He also hoisted the 
first American flag — the sacred *'Pine Tree Flag 
of Massachusetts." It was Captain James Mug- 
ford who attacked a British powder boat sailing 
into Boston harbor. , Although the vessel was 
loaded with arms and ammunition, and heavily 
guarded, he and two hundred sailors succeeded in 
capturing her ; but he lost his life in the struggle. 
His last words were: ''Don't give up the vessel — 
you can beat them off!" 



170 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

The Siege of Boston was thoroughly disgusting 
to the American Army. The city had become un- 
healthy during the warm spring days. Stores of 
beans, fish, and pork were beginning to spoil. The 
leading churches were still used as barracks for 
the British soldiers. The old residence of John 
Winthrop, and most of the Old North Church had 
been torn down to supply them with fuel. Indeed, 
it was high time to interfere before the redcoats 
should entirely ruin the city ! 

One day, while entertaining some guests at din- 
ner, General Washington declared that the time 
had come for the American Army to force the 
British from Boston. Then he turned to Rufus 
Putnam, a cousin of Israel Putnam, and asked him 
to suggest a plan. Putnam was an engineer of 
much ability, and Washington had shown his usual 
discrimination in asking his advice. 

While returning to his quarters, Putnam de- 
cided to call upon General Heath. As he was 
chatting with him, he noticed a book on ''Field 
Engineering," and asked if he might borrow it. 
Heath, at first, refused to loan the book ; but finally 
consented, with the understanding that it should 
be returned in good condition. Putnam took the 
book to camp, and spent the night reading direc- 
tions how to make framework for movable wooden. 



THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 171 

fortifications that could hastily be constructed and 
set in place. Before long, he had completed a plan 
and showTi it to General AVashington. 

It is needless to say that Washington was im- 
mensely pleased with Putnam's plan, and adopted 
it at once. Hundreds of men were set to work 
felling trees and preparing timber for these forti- 
fications, which were to be moved to Dorchester 
Heights. To distract attention, the patriots began 
bombarding Boston from various batteries which 
they had erected in Roxbury and other places. 
This attack set fire to a number of buildings, and 
kept the English soldiers busy. During this time, 
four thousand men were working on the new 
movable fortifications, which were soon ready to 
be carried away. Three hundred and seventy 
teams were employed, and the sound of traffic was 
deadened by wisps of straw bound around the 
wagon-wheels. Indeed, it was a desperate under- 
taking, with so many British spies every^vhere! 
The Revolutionists were intensely gratified when 
the last lumbering team had reached Dorchester 
Heights. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THE EVACUATION OF BOSTON 

When the eyes of General Howe and his staff 
penetrated the dense fog, next morning, they be- 
held a sight that made them widen in dismay. 
Two strong forts and a long series of fortifications 
looked down at them from Dorchester Heights. 
It seemed as though the Yankee patriots must be 
magicians as well as fighters; for, in one night, 
they had accomplished a task that would have 
taken the British many weeks to perform. The 
English war vessels in the harbor looked like 
wretched little tubs by comparison — quite unable 
to stand the cannonading that was sure to come. 
General Howe was particularly excited. He real- 
ized that the only thing to do was to make a 
prompt attack, although victory seemed impos- 
sible in the storm that was now raging. 

Meanwhile, behind the new fortifications. Gen- 
eral Washington and his hosts kept on working, 
regardless of the bad weather. Colonel Thomas 
Mifflin had suggested an effective weapon which 

172 



THE EVACUATION OF BOSTON 173 

scores of men were getting ready for use — filling 
hogsheads with sand and stones to hurl down on 
the attacking enemy. The American patriots had 
adopted the war methods of the early Romans. 

''We must get out of Boston," declared General 
Howe. ''They surely have trapped us." 

This was easier said than done ; for he did not 
have enough vessels to carry away his troops com- 
fortably, and he was afraid to leave any behind, 
lest the Yankees should capture them. In this dire 
strait, he sent word to General Washington that 
they would depart if no violence were shown. In 
case, however, any rebel hand should be raised 
against them, they would burn the city to the 
ground. Washington thought poor Boston had 
suffered enough ; so he consented to let the British 
troops depart in safety, provided they should go 
as quickly and orderly as possible. 

Before dawn of St. Patrick's Day, the British 
soldiers began to embark.^ General Howe had a 
strenuous time, for some of his men were rebel- 
lious and most of them were dreadfully ill- 
humored. Before noon, every^ redcoat had disap- 
peared. Packed with them in their uncomfortable 
vessels were fifteen hundred Tories and their 
families, who had feared to remain behind. All 
they could take along was a few of their valuables 



174 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

and such of their fine raiment as they could carry 
with them. Among the British was John Lovell, a 
patriot of Boston, who was smuggled away as a 
prisoner. He was freed at Halifax, however, and 
returned as soon as possible, to begin a long and 
brilliant career as a naval officer at Boston and 
Charlestown. 

When the British had evacuated, an old-time 
thanksgiving was held. General Washington, 
leading his victorious army, marched into the city 
with flying banners, and a fife and drum corps 
before him. The people cheered with enthusiasm. 
Later, when they began to collect the valuables 
which the British had left behind in their hasty 
flight, they found horses and ammunitian as well 
as quantities of buckles and hair-bows. 

Soon after, a number of British vessels arrived 
in Boston harbor. They had come to aid General 
Howe, and had not known of the British evacua- 
tion. With the speed of the Mohawks at the Bos- 
ton Tea Party, the patriots boarded the vessels, 
captured the entire force, and fifteen hundred bar- 
rels of flour and other provisions. Indeed, they 
could well afford to have another big thanks- 
giving dinner, with everything going in their 
favor ! 

Washington personally thanked Putnam, 



THE EVACUATION OF BOSTON 175 

Thomas, Ward, Porter, and the other generals for 
their efficient service. Then he turned the city 
over to the protection of General Heath, and has- 
tened away to aid in the defense of the colonies 
to the south. 

He had the good judgment to take Colonel 
Glover and his fine regiment along with him, and 
not long afterwards, when the Continental Army 
was almost destroyed by a defeat on Long Island, 
Glover and his men ferried their shattered forces 
across the river between New York and Brooklyn, 
in blinding fog and rain. So we see that Massa- 
chusetts preserved the American Army in a time 
of great need. Indeed, the men of this regiment 
saved the day, on many occasions, and by their 
skillful foraging kept the Continental Army sup- 
plied with food and ammunition. Later, when 
General Washington made his courageous dash 
upon the Hessians, at Trenton, Glover and his men 
poled the boats through the ice cakes on the Dela- 
ware river. This was one of the most daring 
events of colonial history, and it was followed by 
one equally as bold, when Glover and his hosts, un- 
der the command of Washington, charged solidly 
into Trenton, and cut off the retreat of the Hes- 
sians. This brave regiment continued to cover 
itself with laurels when, headed by Brigadier Gen- 



176 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

eral Glover, they won other victories at Valley 
Forge, Peekskill, and West Point. 

The seat of war was now removed from Massa- 
chusetts, although her sons aided the other colo- 
nies and helped to shape the Constitution of the 
United States. During the summer, the Conti- 
nental Congress, in Philadelphia, honored Boston 
with a medal, to commemorate the day she drove 
out the British. At the same time, the Declaration 
of Independence was adopted.^ Among the brave 
signers were five Massachusetts delegates: Sam- 
uel Adams, John Adams, Elbridge Gerry, John 
Hancock, and Robert Treat Paine. The latter be- 
came Judge of the Supreme Court of Massachu- 
setts, fourteen years later. 

The real prosperity of Massachusetts began the 
day that the British troops left her soil.^ Boston 
put her cluttered streets in order, and gave a royal 
welcome to the first Governor of the new state. 
This was our dear old friend, John Hancock, who 
came accompanied by his wife, formerly Dorothy 
Quincy — the girl he wooed and won at Lexington.* 



CHAPTER XXVni 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 



Among the many useful men in the days of the 
Revolution was Benjamin Franklin/ He was born 
in Boston, but he reached the height of his career 
in Philadelphia. The youngest of seventeen chil- 
dren, he spent his childhood in a queer little frame 
house where the luxuries of life were limited. His 
father, Josiah Franklin, was a wool dyer; but as 
that occupation did not bring in enough money to 
support his large family, he became a tallow- 
chandler. Neither he nor his wife, who was Abiah 
Folger of Nantucket, were blest with ambition; 
but, contrary to their expectations, their seven- 
teenth child possessed so much of it that he was 
able to overcome all obstacles and make a great 
name for himself. 

From his childhood, Benjamin loved books bet- 
ter than the games most boys enjoyed. His father 
did not encourage his taste for reading, but kept 
him busy cutting candle-wicks and fitting them into 
molds; while his elder brothers made him run 

177 



178 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

errands for them. The boy hated the many duties 
heaped upon him, and his happiest hours were 
those spent in school with his beloved teacher, 
Sarah Kemble Knight. 

Benjamin, at first, wanted to be a seaman ; then 
he decided that he would become a printer. At 
the age of twelve, he was apprenticed to his 
brother James, to remain with him until he should 
be twenty-one. Although he liked printing, he 
often became very much dejected when James 
punished him unjustly. However, Matthew 
Adams, a merchant much interested in his ad- 
vancement, gave him books until he had accumu- 
lated quite a library. Benjamin, also, wrote 
poems and sold them on the streets to buy other 
helpful books. When ne was sixteen, he learned 
from one of his volumes that he would be healthier 
by abstaining from eating meat; so he became a 
vegetarian. The money he saved on meat, he 
spent to buy more books. 

When his brother started the New England 
Courant, the fourth newspaper in America, Ben- 
jamin was delighted. He realized that James was 
envious of his literary ability, and would not be 
likely to publish any of his articles ; so he would 
write various items in a disguised hand and push 
them under the office door, at night. When James 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 179 

discovered that these worthy contributions he had 
been publishing were written by his brother, he 
was much vexed and at once proceeded to abuse 
him. 

However, James was foolish enough to publish 
funny stories about the Eoyal Governor, which 
landed him in prison. During his captivity, young 
Benjamin conducted the business, and did so 
well that he was released from his apprentice- 
ship. His success enraged James; and as 
his father sided with the older brother, poor 
Benjamin was compelled to look for another 
position. 

When only seventeen, he went by water to New 
York, to seek his fortune. Someone advised him 
to try Philadelphia, so he traveled on, his ragged 
pockets bulging with soiled shirts and stockings. 
He knew no one in Philadelphia who might aid 
him. Almost starved, he bought three long rolls, 
and placing one under either arm, ate the third 
greedily as he walked along Market Street. He 
passed the house of Miss Read, a good-looking 
girl, who smiled broadly at the independent youth 
strolling along. A little farther on, he met a poor 
woman and her child, to whom he gave the loaves 
he was carrying under his arms. 

With his sturdy energy, it did not take him long 



180 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

to get a position in a printing office, and, later, he 
engaged board of Miss Read, the young lady who 
had smiled on him. Soon he returned to Boston 
for a short rest, -and was so agreeable that his 
father and James tried hard to have him take his 
old position; but he was too anxious to get back 
to Miss Read and Philadelphia. 

Later, Sir William Keith, Governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, became interested in Benjamin, and pre- 
vailed upon him to go to England and buy a print- 
ing outfit of his own. The youth started off with 
a number of letters to well-known London citizens ; 
but when he arrived in England, he found that 
Keith was too unpopular for his recommendations 
to be of avail. The result was that Ben Franklin 
was stranded in London, and although he finally 
obtained a position, he was glad to return to Phil- 
adelphia, and, with a partner, start another print- 
ing office. 

Like his brother, he was unable to refrain from 
publishing criticisms of those in authority, so some 
of his patrons came to his office and threatened to 
give up his newspaper unless he could display 
more tact. Ben invited them to dine with him. 
All he had on the rough table was a jug of water 
and a dish of sawdust fashioned like an Indian 
pudding. The guests were much disgusted, but 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 181 

Franklin began to help himself and made a great 
pretense of eating heartily. 

**A man who can live on sawdust pudding and 
water as I can," he cried, *'is not dependent upon 
the patronage of any man.'* 

As a result, the circulation of his paper boomed 
more than ever. About this time, he published 
**Poor Richard's Almanac," which helped to es- 
tablish his fortune. He, also, married Miss Read, 
who entered into all his pursuits with cheerful in- 
terest. 

Franklin became a profound student, and as- 
tounded the world by his articles concerning scien- 
tific research. He even sent a kite with steel 
points into a thunder-cloud, and brought down 
efectricity. He, also, invented the lightning rod. 

Encouraged by a series of triumphs, he rose to 
a lofty position in the city of his adoption, and 
finally became a figure of national importance. 
He received the degree of Master of Arts from 
Harvard and Yale colleges. As Postmaster Gen- 
eral, he put the postal service of the colonies on 
a paying basis. He, also, went to England to dis- 
cuss the Stamp Act, where he soon gained the 
respect and confidence of the British. 

When he returned to Philadelphia, ho learned 
that he had been appointed delegate to the Second 



182 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Continental Congress. While in that position, he 
served as one of the composers and signers of the 
Declaration of Independence. During the scourge 
of war that followed, he went to France to ask for 
assistance, and was rewarded by having fleets and 
an army granted him. It w^as he that introduced 
Marquis de Lafayette to General Washington, and 
thus secured most valuable service at the time our 
nation was in peril; for it was the French fleet, 
with General Washington's army, that dealt the 
last blow to the British, at Yorktown. 

Benjamin Franklin held the governorship of 
Pennsylvania for three terms ; and all the rest of 
his life was spent in the cause of humanity. Al- 
though the seventeenth child of the poor tallow- 
chandler had climbed high on the ladder of fame, 
he was loyal to his family and his native city, to 
the last. At his death, he left funds to provide 
yearly medals for certain educational institutions 
in Boston. 



CHAPTER XXTY 

A FAMOUS TORY AND AN HONORED WHIG 

Another renowned man of the same period was 
Benjamin Thompson, one of the Tories, who, with 
the British army, left Boston/ He was a Woburn 
boy, who became a profound scholar ; and he revo- 
lutionized the knowledge of the world in regard 
to light and heat. 

When only fourteen, he was a remarkable stu- 
dent of algebra and geometry, and was so far ad- 
vanced in astronomy that he could calculate an 
eclipse of the sun within a few seconds of ac- 
curacy. 

At the age of twenty, he married a widow four- 
teen years older than himself — Madame Rolfe. 
She was quite a wealthy woman, and gave her 
agreeable young husband the opportunity of asso- 
ciating with Royal Governor Wentworth and other 
celebrated gentry. They lived happily for a time 
at Rumford, New Hampshire, until Benjamin had 
to hide himself, having displeased some of his 
townsmen because of his loyalty to the King. 

183 



184 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS ' 

When the war broke out, he boarded a British 
frigate and thus escaped injury during the Siege 
of Boston. When the British evacuated the city, 
he went back to England with them, leaving his 
wife behind. 

On account of his brilliant mind and agreeable 
manners, he quite won the admiration of the Eng- 
lish people. He continued his experiments with 
gun-powder, and gave the British army many val- 
uable suggestions. As a reward, he was elected 
a Fellow of the Royal Society ; and, later, with the 
rank of Commissioned Lieutenant Colonel, he was 
given cavalry command in the British army. 
While holding this position, he returned to Amer- 
ica, landing at Charleston, South Carolina. He 
took an active part in the closing campaigns of the 
southern provinces; then "returned to England, 
where he was retired from the army on half pay. 

Being naturally a great rover, he soon left Lon- 
don to offer his services to the Austrians, who 
were fighting the Turks. On his way, he became 
acquainted with Prince Maximilian, the future 
Elector of Bavaria. The prince was so much 
pleased with Thompson that he invited him to be- 
come an officer in his army. King George III of 
England not only gave his consent, but knighted 
him, so that he became Sir Benjamin Thompson. 



A FAMOUS TORY 185 

He rose from one brilliant achievement to an- 
other, and, at last, settled in Munich, where he 
helped the government to care for the poor. It is 
said that whenever he fell sick, the working people 
prayed that he might get well. When the city was 
threatened by foes, Sir Benjamin, with wonderful 
tact and dispatch, prevented them from entering. 

In addition to his many state duties, he was 
always making useful inventions, not the least of 
which was the "Rumford Roaster." He was also 
the founder of the Royal Institute of Great 
Britain. The Order of the White Eagle was con- 
ferred upon him, and he became a count. 
Although the title really was ''Count of the Holy 
Roman Empire," he preferred to be known as 
Count Rumf ord, in memory of the little New Eng- 
land town of Rumford which had given him his 
first favors. 

Now that we have followed the career of a re- 
nowned Tory, we must not forget one of the most 
notable Whigs, Brigadier General Rufus Putnam. 
He was born at Sutton, and earned his first money 
by blacking boots in the tavern of his step-father. 
In his spare time, he hunted partridges, which he 
sold to buy books, that he might gratify his long- 
ing for an education. He was a strong boy, for he 



186 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

had worked in a blacksmith shop and served an 
apprenticeship to a millwright; so, when the 
French and Indian War broke out, Rufus Putnam 
was quite fit to be a soldier. Later, he married 
and settled down in the town of Rutland ; but the 
battles at Lexington and Concord aroused his 
patriotism anew, so he took a regiment of his 
townsmen to the camp at Cambridge. At that 
time, he held the title of Lieutenant Colonel. You 
will remember that he planned the fortifications at 
Dorchester Heights, and that it was his genius 
that enabled the Americans to drive the British 
from Boston without firing a single shot. General 
Washington declared him to be the greatest en- 
gineer of the Revolutionary War. 

Now, Rufus Putnam, like most of the Puritans, 
had the colonizing instinct in his blood. He 
thought that New England should send out a large 
number of pioneers far to the west, beyond Con- 
necticut and Pennsylvania, to lay the foundation 
of a colony that would be an honor to her name. 

With this thought in mind, he obtained from 
Congress a tract of land in the great, undiscov- 
ered West; and the Ohio Company was formed, 
consisting almost entirely of Massachusetts men. 
This was the first step towards the development of 
the Western states. 



AN HONORED WHIG 187 

The first party of colonists went from Danvers, 
and were joined by others at Pittsburgh. They 
were loaded upon a flatboat, which they christened 
*'The Mayflower," and began their trip on the 
Ohio river. In five days, they landed in Ohio, and 
commenced to build Marietta, now a proud little 
city where every Massachusetts tradition is still 
held sacred. Rufus Putnam was called the 
''Founder and Father of Ohio." It is strange to 
realize that the Great West, like the New England 
states, had its Pilgrim Fathers and its Mayflower.^ 



CHAPTER XXX 



SHAYS BEBELLION 



The Revolutionary War left the new states facing 
a huge debt which amounted to millions of dollars. 
In Massachusetts, the legislature met to discuss 
methods to raise this money. Some of the tax- 
payers, who feared that they might be called upon 
to pay more than their Just share of the national 
debt, started a rebellion, of which Daniel Shays 
of Hopkinton was really the leader.^ 

*'I am opposed to the high salary that Massa- 
chusetts is paying her governor," he complained. 
**I hate the aristocrats in the senate. I regret the 
high fees they are giving the lawyers. I rebel 
against taxation." 

One day, he entered Springfield with eleven hun- 
dred valiant followers, all wearing sprigs of ever- 
green in their hats. He was determined to pre- 
vent the Supreme Court from holding its usual 
session. He had planned, also, to destroy the new 
arsenal and to burn down the town. 

The Governor heard of the rebellion in time to 
188 



SHAYS' REBELLION 189 

make all the necessary preparations. Over four 
thousand soldiers, under General Benjamin Lin- 
coln, a noted revolutionary fighter, were sent to 
defend Springfield, together with General William 
Shepard and two thousand fighters who were 
already drawn up to protect the Springfield 
arsenal. 

"We demand the surrender of that building!" 
shouted Daniel Shays, while the mob cheered 
lustily. 

** Disperse!" ordered General Shepard. *'If 
you step one foot beyond the line I have marked, 
we will fire!" 

Shays had the courage to disobey. General 
Shepard was loath to shoot the brave comrades 
who had fought by his side in the late war, so he 
ordered his men to fire in the air. 

Shays laughed scornfully and marched his men 
on further. 

''Aim low and fire!" commanded Shepard. 

A medley of deafening reports and startled yells 
resulted. Five of the rebels were killed, and 
many desperately wounded. 

''Murderers! butchers!" shouted the aston- 
ished rioters. 

Then they broke into a sprightly run, and never 
stopped until they had reached Ludlow, several 



190 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

miles away. Here General Lincoln dispersed 
them in all directions, in the height of a severe 
blizzard. 

This ended Shays' Rebellion. Still believing in 
his cause, but horrified at the recent bloodshed. 
Shays fled into New York state and never re- 
turned. In time, however, he and Eli Parsons, 
one of his followers, begged pardon of the legisla- 
ture, and were forgiven. 

This rebellion did a little good, after all ; for the 
people of Massachusetts began to take a pro- 
nounced stand in favor of law and order, and de- 
nounced rebellion in severe terms. Yet, they saw 
that there must be a stronger government than 
that which any state could maintain ; so a Consti- 
tutional Convention was held, at which a lasting 
and controlling government was established for 
the new Republic of the United States. 

Cotton Tufts, a famous patriot, was the leading 
spirit in urging the ratification of this Federal 
Constitution.^ He, also, helped to found the 
Massachusetts Medical Society and the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

Now, strange to say, Samuel Adams, the loyal 
"Whig, was opposed to a national government, for 
he believed earnestly in state rights. Both he and 



SHAYS' KEBELLION 191 

Hancock stormed at the idea of Massachusetts 
being ruled by the national government. On the 
other hand, Paul Revere and other influential men 
implored Adams and Hancock to ratify the new 
Constitution of the United States. Adams would 
not give in until a mass meeting had been held by 
the laborers of Boston, at which they passed reso- 
lutions favoring it. Then, when he heard that the 
plain people, whose rights he loved to defend, had 
come out soundly for national government, Sam 
Adams, too, left the old, wornout Whig party, and 
became as loyal a Federalist as ever lived. Later, 
he was made Governor of his beloved state of 
Massachusetts.' 

We learned some time ago that the iirst Gov- 
ernor of the state was John Hancock, and that he 
wed charming Dorothy Quincy. 

After they were married, and while the British 
government still wanted John's head, they settled 
in Fairfield, Connecticut. Dorothy had come from 
a distinguished family that entertained a great 
deal. She loved the fair town of Quincy, named 
in honor of her family, and which was pleasantly 
situated within a short distance from Boston. 

When her husband was elected president of the 
Continental Congress, she found herself com- 



192 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

pelled to move to Philadelphia. There Hancock 
insisted upon great state and ceremony, and on 
special occasions they rode in a fine carriage 
drawn by splendid horses. Four servants in liv- 
ery attended them, and fifty horsemen, with drawn 
sabres, rode before and behind. Later, they moved 
to Boston. When Hancock was elected Governor 
of Massachusetts, they were living on Beacon Hill, 
in magnificent style. Dorothy was having all the 
company she wanted — and more, too, perhaps. 

One day, the Governor told his wife that he had 
invited Count d'Estaing and the officers of the 
French fleet to take breakfast with them. Mrs. 
Hancock made hasty preparations to feed at least 
thirty hungry men. You can imagine her surprise 
to see the Count crossing Boston Common, a short 
time before breakfast, accompanied by one hun- 
dred and twenty officers, each in his most gor- 
geous attire. 

Quick as a flash, Dorothy Hancock was bustling 
about. She set the guards on the Common to milk- 
ing all the cows. She had the garden stripped of 
its fruits and flowers. Then she borrowed silver- 
ware, china, cake, and anything else she could 
think of, from her neighbors ; and when the break- 
fast bell rang, met the Count and his staff with a 
pleasant smile of welcome. It is related that the 



SHAYS' REBELLION 193 

French host ate ravenously, one of the men going 
so far as to drink seventeen cups of tea. 

When the time came to say good-by, the Count 
invited Mrs. Hancock to visit the fleet and bring 
her intimate friends along. She accepted the invi- 
tation, and soon had the Count frisking about to 
provide entertainment for her and five hundred 
companions. Count d'Estaing appeared just as 
polite and free from embarrassment, on this occa- 
sion, as she had been at her famous breakfast. 

When Washington, President of the United 
States, came to Boston, the citizens vied with one 
another to do him honor. Every one of the official 
set called upon him except Governor Hancock, who 
could not realize that it was a greater honor to be 
President of the United States than Governor of 
Massachusetts. Before the President had time to 
notice the slight, however, Hancock's friends had 
persuaded him to pay his respects in person. 
President Washington returned the call as soon 
as possible ; and the Hancocks decided that he was, 
indeed, a charming person, quite worthy of their 
patronage. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

THEEE EEMAEKABLE STATESMEN 

Our old friend, John Adams, succeeded General 
Washington as President of the United States.^ 
He had married Abigail Smith ; and their stay at 
Washington, the new capital of the republic, was 
marked by many brilliant events. The good 
statesman, as was his sincere wish, ended his days 
at Quincy, the suburb of Boston that has furnished 
the United States with two presidents. Before 
that day had come, however, the country was 
scourged by another war with Great Britain, in 
which the new states were victorious.^ During 
that period, New England again came into promi- 
nence when the sailors of Marblehead took an ac- 
tive part in the fight between the United States 
Frigate Chesapeake and the British Frigate Shan- 
non, and did most effective work for Captain 
Lawrence, commander of the Chesapeake, who 
was killed while urging his gallant men to defend 
the sinking ship, to the last. 
When Maine became a separate state, Massa- 

194 



REMARKABLE STATESMEN 195 

chusetts found it easier to concentrate her indus- 
tries. She had already added to her list of fabrics, 
and had set up machinery for the making of nails 
and other useful articles. She had built the first 
navigable canals in the United States for promot- 
ing commerce. Pleasure boats dotted her bays 
and rivers. Gas lights were used in Boston, and 
were much appreciated after the reign of the 
clumsy pioneer lantern and the dim colonial can- 
dle.^ 

The sixth President of the Union was John 
Quincy Adams, of Quincy, eldest son of the former 
President, John Adams." He married Louisa 
Catherine Johnson. His father had been a 
staunch Whig, but had joined the Federalists 
when the new Constitution of the United States 
had been accepted. John Quincy Adams was not 
a Federalist, for he was not in sympathy with 
slavery in the Southern states. In fact, he was the 
first Northern statesman to speak against the 
slave traffic, and his speeches were so strong and 
well delivered that he received the title of "Old 
Man Eloquent." He often said that after hear- 
ing the bombardment of Bunker Hill and seeing 
the burning of Charlestown, he had grown opposed 
to any kind of oppression. After serving his term 



196 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

as President, he continued to work for his country. 
At the age of sixty-four, he was made congress- 
man, and was a representative of Massachusetts 
for seventeen years. He finally dropped dead on 
the floor of the capitol, at Washington, where a 
metallic circle now marks the exact spot. 

The second Northern statesman to take up the 
cry against slavery was Daniel Webster.^ He was 
born in New Hampshire, but has always been 
claimed by Massachusetts. 

When a small boy, someone gave him a kerchief 
on which was printed the Constitution of the 
United States. It proved tp be a very useful gift, 
for Daniel committed the words to memory, and 
obtained a clearer idea of the Constitution than 
any person of his day. 

Daniel was a school teacher in his youth, and so 
poor that his principal possessions consisted of a 
pair of old saddle-bags, a few articles of clothing, 
and some books. Yet, notwithstanding his pov- 
erty, he saved enough money to give his brother 
Ezekial a college education, and to do many kindly 
acts for his family. 

He finally decided to go to Boston to study law. 
Like all successful men, from his boyhood he had 
determined on his career and was making every 



REMARI^BLE STATESMEN 197 

effort to fulfil his plans. The legislature of 
Massachusetts believed in him to such an extent 
that he was elected United States Senator, and re- 
elected again and again for twenty years. 

It is related that his enemies called him a Hin- 
doo, which led to some of the visitors to the cap- 
itol believing that he was a colored man. His 
dusky skin and piercing black eyes, however, could 
not detract from his eloquence ; and everyone who 
came in contact with the man believed in him and 
his cause. 

Before he had risen to his highest honors, his 
wife, formerly Grace Taylor of Hopkinton, his two 
children, and his brother Ezekiel died ; but his sad- 
dened life became brighter after his marriage to 
his second wife, Caroline Bayard LeRoy of New 
York. 

Daniel Webster often dined with English nobil- 
ity when abroad, and was eulogized by Queen Vic- 
toria, while her guest, for his dignity and great 
learning. He might have been President ; but he 
made enemies by trying to prevent the Civil War. 

His country home at Marshfield was one of the 
finest places of its time, and was surrounded by 
a stock farm filled with horses, cattle, sheep, 
llamas, chickens, guinea-fowls, and peacocks. The 
house was noted for its interesting paintings and 



198 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

engravings, and its bed-chambers, each furnished 
in a different color. The guests who entered his 
doors never forgot the meaning of New England 
hopitality. 

Daniel Webster may have owed his success in 
life to the little kerchief over which he pondered 
so many hours, while still a little country boy ; for, 
a half century later, he delivered, in the national 
capitol, a speech regarding the Constitution of the 
United States, which is considered one of the mas- 
terpieces of American literature. Another re- 
markable speech led to a treaty with Great Britain, 
which freed the American Republic from foreign 
entanglements and intrusions. His lectures at 
Bunker Hill, in truth, are enough to endear him to 
all American people. The greatest eulogy we can 
pronounce over Daniel Webster, the statesman, 
diplomatist, politician, orator, and lawyer, is to 
say that he was true to all the traditions of his 
country. His dying request was that he might be 
permitted to gaze for the last time upon the Amer- 
ican Flag. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

VAEIOUS TYPES OF MASSACHUSETTS MEN 

After the death of Daniel Webster, the leading 
lawyer in Massachusetts was Rufus Choate, who 
became Congressman, Senator, and Attorney Gen- 
eral. He was an Essex boy, and was living at 
Salem when he made up his mind to study law in 
Boston.^ 

Another celebrity of Webster's time was Hor- 
ace Mann, of Franklin.'' You must remember 
about him, for he was the ** Father of the Ameri- 
can School System," which you are enjoying to- 
day. Horace Mann did not wish to be rich or 
famous. He simply wanted to be useful and to 
advance the cause of education. He especially 
desired that poor boys might share the advan- 
tages which, up to then, had been restricted to the 
rich. He also took decided interest in the educa- 
tion of girls. This was a daring attitude for those 
days, as John Pierpont, a Boston minister, had 
been injured by an angry mob for insisting upon 



200 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

the admission of girls to the Boston high schools.^ 
"While president of the Senate of Massachusetts, 
Horace Mann signed the bill authorizing the for- 
mation of a Board of Education/ A school fund 
was raised; the common schools were all reorgan- 
ized ; and the normal schools for training teachers 
were created as well as the Normal Art School of 
Boston, to be supported by the state. 

Stories are told of Horace Mann's great 
capacity for work, and his willingness to do things 
that few men in his position would condescend to 
do. At Pittsfield, for example, while waiting for 
the teachers to assemble at the institute, he ob- 
served that the room was untidy. Supplying him- 
self with two brooms, he gave one to the Governor 
of the state, and worked with great zeal until the 
room was orderly enough to shame any careless 
janitor. 

There were three merchants in Massachusetts 
that had remarkably interesting lives. One of 
them was Lord Timothy Dexter, of Newburyport, 
who amassed quite a fortune. Like many others 
who become rich suddenly, Timothy quite lost his 
head, and imagined that he was one of the grand- 
est individuals in the world. He built himself a 
palace in his native town, which he furnished very 



TYPES OF MASSACHUSETTS MEN 201 

elaborately, and cluttered with statues of great 
men, including one of himself. Everybody in the 
town laughed at him; but he thought that they 
were only envious, and kept on living in pompous 
style. 

When the Province was yet young, merchants 
were accustomed to sending various articles to the 
West Indies, for trade. On one occasion, they 
loaded their ship with a cargo of grain and other 
necessary things, and wondered what Lord Tim- 
othy would contribute. What do you suppose he 
sent ? A consignment of warming-pans ! How the 
merchants laughed when they imagined the aston- 
ishment of the West Indians at the sight of such 
useless articles ! 

Weeks passed before anything was heard about 
the shipment. Then they learned that the pans 
had brought a tremendous price. All of them had 
been sold and many more were demanded. Lord 
Timothy's fortune was made, and he could well 
afford to live in splendor the rest of his days. 
The warming-pans were just what the people of 
the hot West Indies wanted for straining sugar ! 

Another successful merchant was Amos Law- 
rence, of Groton, the first great American manu- 
facturer of cloth.' He began life as a clerk; but 



202 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

patient application brought him a dry-goods store 
of his own. During his day, he controlled the 
largest wholesale business in America, and made 
Lawrence the manufacturing center of New Eng- 
land. 

The thri\dng town of Peabody, once known as 
South Danvers, was named for one of the greatest 
merchants and bankers the world has ever known. 
George Peabody was a poor boy, with a strong 
mind and a kind heart.® He received a scanty edu- 
cation in a district school. When but twelve years 
of age, he became a grocer's boy, and for the next 
seven years clerked and, farmed to accumulate a 
little money. Then, a man who had taken an in- 
terest in his welfare loaned him two thousand dol- 
lars to start a store. At nineteen, he owned a 
wholesale business in Baltimore, which became 
enormous ; later, he even had branch stores in New 
York and Philadelphia. His next move was to 
establish himself in London, where he sold out 
his American interests and became a banker. He 
never married, and lived as simply as possible; 
yet he made the acquaintance of all the celebrated 
people of the day. 

Queen Victoria offered him a knighthood, but 
he declined it, saying: "If your Majesty will 




So through the night rode Paul Revere; 
And so through the night went his cry of alarm' 
(Page 142) 



X 



TYPES OF MASSACHUSETTS MEN 203 

write me a personal letter indorsing my desire to 
help the poor of London, I will be more than de- 
Hghted." 

The Queen wrote him the letter, and sent him 
her portrait enameled on gold. Both the letter 
and the picture are now in the Peabody Institute, 
at Peabody, Massachusetts. 

Unlike many rich men, his first thought was 
always for the poor and the distressed, and his 
great fortune was bequeathed to educational and 
charitable institutions. 

The highest honor ever bestowed upon an Amer- 
ican citizen was paid to his memory when his body 
was about to be shipped to his native home in 
Massachusetts. Queen Victoria ordered special 
services in "Westminster Abbey, and had his re- 
mains brought back to America in great state, on 
the British man-of-war Monarch, which was 
convoyed by a French and an English gunboat. 

So many speak of the good they would do if they 
only had money ; but some of the noblest deeds of 
George Peabody were accomplished while he was 
still struggling to win a lasting name. 

There are many people with quiet, sweet na- 
tures, who live their useful lives and pass away, 
to be remembered only by the few friends who 



204 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

knew and loved them. Such an individual was 
Jonathan Chapman, or ' ' Johnny Appleseed, ' ' who 
left his native state of Massachusetts, at the begin- 
ning of the nineteenth century, to roam the pleas- 
ant valleys of the West. 

He was a scholar, of a deeply religious tempera- 
ment, and so fond of nature that he lived in the 
shelter of the woods. He was always poorly clad, 
for although the people for whom he labored so 
lovingly gave him comfortable clothing, Johnny's 
unselfishness never permitted him to keep any but 
the barest necessities for himself. He would fre- 
quently appear from his forest retreats, laden 
with choice treasures from the bosom of Mother 
Earth, including everything from beautiful flow- 
ers, branches, and herbs, to empty snail shells. 
These he would bestow upon the people he met. 

The death of his sweetheart, a lover of apple 
blossoms, had suggested a beautiful idea to him 
that might be of benefit to others mourning the 
loss of loved ones. Instead of growing sour or 
melancholy, he went to Pittsburgh and collected 
many bags of apple-seeds from cider mills. Fill- 
ing a canoe with these seeds, he rowed down the 
Ohio river, and up the smaller streams emptying 
into it. After finding an open glade in the forest, 
he would dig up the soil, plant some seeds, weave 
a brush fence around the spot to keep out the deer, 



TYPES OF MASSACHUSETTS MEN 205 

and move on. Often, he would return to trim the 
little trees that sprang up; and, in time, the set- 
tlers swarming into these rich lands found all the 
fruit trees they needed. 

It is said that one thousand orchards in Ohio, 
Indiana, and Illinois, owe their existence to 
Johnny Appleseed. He is known as the ''Patron 
Saint of Orchards." He, also, planted pear and 
plum trees, grape vines, and many herbs used for 
medicine. 

When Mansfield, Ohio, then a tiny settlement 
with a block house, was threatened by Indians, 
Johnny Appleseed went to Mount Vernon, thirty 
miles away, to call out the government troops ; and 
thus saved the town. Paul Revere did nothing- 
braver. 

For nearly half a century, Johnny Appleseed 
lived in the forest, his heart filled with joy at the 
beauty of nature. Not until he had gone did peo- 
ple realize that he was one of the world's greatest 
philanthropists. 

Just before his death near Fort Wayne, Indiana, 
Johnny Appleseed offered a prayer notable for its 
sweetness and trust. His Hoosier friends gave 
him a fine tribute, in which it was recorded : * ' His 
name heads the Angel's scroll, along with that of 
Abou Ben Adhem ; for he was one that loved his 
fellow men, * and he sowed beside all waters '. ' ' 



CHAPTER XXXin 

PATEIOTS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTUEY 

Massachusetts opposed the Mexican War, 
although Caleb Cushing and others of the Old 
Bay State raised very creditable regiments, and 
rendered valuable service to the cause.^ Such men 
as Charles Sumner, Nathaniel P. Banks, John 
Albion Andrew, B. F. Butler, and Henry Wilson, 
leading Federalists opposed to slavery, were too 
busy founding the Republican party to want to 
become involved in difficulties with other nations. 
However, Progress had smiled upon Massachu- 
setts since the early days when Paul Revere had 
carried messages from one scattered settlement to 
another ; so these leaders of the present day were 
able to work with greater dispatch and intelli- 
gence. Now there were railways, a good postal 
service, express companies, and many other con- 
veniences ; and a splendid library adorned the city 
of Boston, where those who loved to read 
could find the best books and newspapers of the 
day.^ 

206 



PATRIOTS 207 

Charles Sumner was the famous son of a noble 
patriot, Charles Pinckney Sumner. When quite a 
young man, Charles happened to be present at a 
meeting in Faneuil Hall, presided over by John 
Quincy Adams, when the case came up of a negro 
who had tried to escape from the South into Can- 
ada. His master was making a desperate effort to 
have him returned to his possession. Charles 
Sumner, moved by the pitiable condition of the 
prisoner, made his first great speech against 
slavery. 

Out of Washington's Federalist party came the 
Liberty party ; then the regular Republican party, 
with Charles Sumner as one of the founders.^ 
Sumner went to Congress, and spoke his mind 
fearlessly, without thought of the desperate men 
who threatened him. When Kansas was about to 
be taken into the Union, he fought against her 
being admitted as a slave state. In a speech en- 
titled **The Crime Against Kansas," he talked 
two entire days, summing up his argument by de- 
claring that Kansas should be allowed to make her 
own decision. 

Then Sumner was sent to the Senate, where he 
became so personal in his remarks that one of his 
enemies entering the Chamber where the famous 
orator and statesman was bending over his desk, 



208 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

writing a letter, beat him over the head with a cane 
until he fell senseless. Senator Sumner never 
fully recovered from that cowardly attack. Both 
the North and the South, and also the far western 
states, were enraged, and wanted to punish his 
assailant. Massachusetts offered Sumner money 
as compensation, but he refused it. 

"Whatever Massachusetts can give, let it go to 
suffering Kansas," he moaned. 

When he was able to sit up, he learned that he 
had been re-elected to the Senate, and that during 
his long illness, Massachusetts would allow no one 
to serve in his stead. For fourteen years more, 
Sumner upheld the honor of his native state, and 
was our strongest champion of equality for all 
men.* 

During the great agitation against slavery, the 
people of Massachusetts showed lofty ideals. Wil- 
liam Henry Channing was one of the first minis- 
ters to express his interest in all humanity.^ He, 
also, established Brook Farm, an agricultural 
colony, at Roxbury, where literary and scientific 
instructions were given. The head of this institu- 
tion was Dr. George Ripley, one of the founders 
of the Transcendental Club, which included such 
great men as Amos Bronson Alcott, Frederic 



PATRIOTS 209 

Henry Hedge, and Charles A. Dana. This was 
the first effort to dignify labor, and bring out its 
spiritual and intellectual side. 

Edward Everett was another great organizer 
of charitable societies. He was a president of 
Harvard, a United States Senator, and a lecturer 
with wide influence.^ 

Phillips Brooks, also, lent vast aid to mold the 
high destiny of Massachusetts. He was an emi- 
nent preacher, a fine orator, and a writer of 
ability; and he rose to the rank of Bishop of 
Massachusetts.^ 

Theodore Parker established the twenty-eighth 
Congregational Society. He also took part in the 
crusade against slavery, delivered many brilliant 
lectures, and wrote several volumes on topics 
chosen to benefit all classes of people.® 

Samuel Gridley Howe, a great philanthropist, 
organized the Massachusetts State Board of Char- 
ity, the first of its kind in America.^ 

William Lloyd Garrison was another strong 
power in those days of remarkable men.^° He was 
a Newburyport boy, and began his career as an 
apprentice in a small printing-office. While a re- 
porter for a Baltimore newspaper, he was impris- 
oned for denouncing a sea-captain who had taken 
a cargo of slaves from Baltimore to New Orleans. 



210 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

When he returned to Boston, he published the 
Liberator, a paper denouncing slavery; and, 
although he was dragged from his office many a 
time by an angry mob, he persisted in what he 
firmly believed was his duty. He, also, wrote a 
number of admirable poems. 

Wendell Phillips was another noted man." 
Handsome, well-bred, and polished, though he was, 
his speeches were so violent that his enemies con- 
tinually threatened him. His dearest companion 
was William Ellery Channing, the leader of the 
Unitarian movement that divided the Congrega- 
tional church of New England.^^ These two 
men stood side by side in their fight against 
slavery. 

Phillips was present at a great mass meeting. 
The crowd that filled the building on that occasion 
was most indignant ; for it had been learned that 
one of the New England ministers, Elijah P. Love- 
joy, had been killed by some ruffians in Alton, Illi- 
nois, simply because he had protested against a 
negro-burning mob. The people of Massachusetts, 
who were used to free speech, could not under- 
stand how anyone had dared to murder one of 
their own number simply because he had expressed 
himself bravely and honestly. 

William Ellery Channing, who was called the 



PATRIOTS 211 

** Apostle of Liberty," offered resolutions con- 
demning the Alton mob, and stood firmly for free 
speech and a free press. When the Attorney Gen- 
eral said that the mob in Alton was just as patri- 
otic as the men of the Boston Tea Party, Wendell 
Phillips flew into a rage. 

Springing to the platform, he denounced the 
Alton mob, and all others who stood for lawless- 
ness, and against free speech and individual opin- 
ion. Such a bombardment as he launched against 
them ! Some of his enemies tried to hiss him from 
the platform, but he held his ground until he had 
finished. In the storm of applause that followed, 
many patriots realized that no greater oratory had 
aroused the echoes of old Faneuil since that of 
James Otis. 

, Nearer and nearer loomed the Civil War.^^ 
Massachusetts hated to see the Southern states 
leave the Union, remembering the stormy days 
when they had all fought together against the 
despotic power of England; but that experience 
as well as many others had taught the Bay State 
to hate oppression. It was impossible for her to 
view slavery with the eyes of her Southern sis- 
ters. With bated breath, she awaited the news 
from other parts of the great nation. One by one 



212 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

the Southern states seceded until only Kentucky 
remained. Then Fort Sumter was fired upon. 
The war had begun in earnest. 

When Abraham Lincoln called for seventy-five 
thousand men, Massachusetts was first to respond. 
John Albion Andrew, known as the ''War Gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts," received special praise 
from the government ; for as soon as the call had 
been issued, Andrew's troops began to muster, 
and were off in a few hourS." The Sixth Massa- 
chusetts Regiment, under Colonel Jones, of Pep- 
perell, was the first to shed its blood. 

Nathaniel P. Banks, of Waltham, had sprung 
from the rank of a bobbin-boy in a great factory, 
to the position of Congressman and Governor of 
Massachusetts ; and during the Civil War he was 
made Major General of the United States Vol- 
unteers.^^ 

William Francis Bartlett, of Haverhill, organ- 
ized the Fifty-ninth Massachusetts Volunteers, 
and served as colonel in the brilliant Louisiana 
Expedition of General Banks.^* 

Charles Devens, another notable warrior, also 
rose to great heights." In turn, he was State Sen- 
ator, United States Marshal for the District of 
Massachusetts, Brigadier General of the Army, 
Associate Justice of the Superior and Supreme 



PATRIOTS 213 

Courts of Massachusetts, and United States Attor- 
ney General under President Hayes. 

There are many others who became distin- 
guished during the war. It might be added that, 
although Massachusetts loves freedom and prefers 
peace when the conditions are favorable, she is the 
first to take a stand against any issue that may be 
injurious to the commonwealth. 

During the Spanish War, Massachusetts fur- 
nished nearly twelve thousand soldiers, although 
the United States government only asked her for 
seven thousand.^^ 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

THE TELEGRAPH, THE TELEPHONE, AND THE CABLE 

Samuel Finley Beeese Morse, one of the brightest 
and pluckiest boys of the Old Bay State, was born 
in Charlestowm.^ Almost the first inspiring sight 
which he beheld was Bunker Hill, and surely that 
was enough to make him wish to achieve a suc- 
cess as lofty as the monument itself. Like most 
celebrated people, Samuel realized that time is 
precious. He wanted to know all that is useful, 
and studied so hard that he was able to enter Yale 
College at the age of fourteen. 

A few years later, he became quite a good por- 
trait painter, and traveled from place to place 
making pictures of people. Sometimes he would 
get as much as sixty dollars for an especially good 
likeness. Thus encouraged, he kept at work until 
prizes and medals began to come his way. Then 
he went to New York to study, and succeeded in 
founding the National Academy of Design, one of 
the important art centers of the world. He was 
made its first president, and remained in office for 
sixteen years. 

214 



THE TELEGRAPH 215 

Now, Samuel Morse was not the kind of man 
who thinks only along one line. He began to 
study other interesting subjects, especially elec- 
tricity. 

''Why can't our words be transmitted from one 
place to another by electricity?" he asked him- 
self. 

No one paid any attention to such foolishness. 
They thought he had studied art so long he must 
have developed into a dreamer. Nothing daunted, 
he asked Congress to provide a sum of money, that 
he might experiment with wires and machinery to 
see if sound could not be transmitted by means of 
electricity. 

Congress refused to take any interest in his 
case, so his friends raised the funds for him to go 
abroad; but there he met with the same ridicule 
and opposition. He returned to America, and 
made another attempt to obtain thirty thousand 
dollars from Congress, to be used in experiment- 
ing on a long-distance wire. He expressed him- 
self so clearly and sensibly this time that Congress 
finally passed the bill he had presented. Then he 
learned that Congress was simply disposing of the 
matter as easily as possible, relying on the fact 
that the Senate must ratify the bill before he could 
get the money ; and well he knew that it was a very 



216 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

hard thing for a poor man to get a bill approved 
by the Senate. 

When the day arrived, Morse went to the Senate 
Chamber to learn his fate. From the visitors ' gal- 
lery he looked down on the throng of wise and 
practical men. One hundred and nineteen peti- 
tions were yet to be considered before his request 
should be heard. 

**They will be so tired and disgusted, they will 
not consider my bill," he complained as he left the 
Senate to return to his lodging-house. 

He made up his mind that he would go home and 
not bother any more about an ungrateful public; 
but as he was packing hi^ valise, next morning, 
Elizabeth Ellsworth, a charming girl friend, called 
to see him. She was bright and smiling, and she 
shook his hand more cordially than usual. 

**I thought I must run right over to congratu- 
late you," she said. 

"What for?" he asked, in surprise. 

''Your bill passed the Senate, and you will 
get the money to make your valuable experi- 
ments." 

He asked her why she chose to joke with him at 
such a time. 

*'It is every word true," she insisted. ** Father 
stayed to see what would become of the bill, and it 



THE TELEGRAPH 217 

was passed just five minutes before the Senate ad- 
journed. Mother said you must come right over 
and have breakfast with us. ' ' 

"If what you say is true, I will never forget 
you," declared Morse, happier than he had been 
in all his life. ' ' When my telegraph line is opened 
you shall send the first message." 

Not long after, Morse had set up his experi- 
mental line between Baltimore and Washington. 
On the day of the first trial, he stood at the end of 
the line, in the chamber of the Supreme Court at 
Washington. The great moment was at hand! 
What if he should fail, and the Senate should de- 
nounce him for getting government money under 
false pretenses? What if he should disappoint 
Elizabeth Ellsworth? Elizabeth was there by his 
side, smiling and confident. The silence was so 
deep one could have heard a pin drop. 

**I am ready for you to give the message to Bal- 
timore," said Morse, turning anxiously toward the 
girl. 

Elizabeth, wishing God's blessing on the experi- 
ment, had chosen the latter part of the twenty- 
third verse of the twenty-third chapter of Num- 
bers. She believed that a few sacred words from 
the Bible would go further on those magic wires 
than any other message she might utter. 



218 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

''What hath God wrought?" she dictated, with- 
out a quaver.^ 

These words brought fame and fortune to Sam- 
uel Morse. 

Of course, he had much trouble with patents, but 
he came out of all his difficulties with flying colors. 
He was decorated by the French and German Em- 
perors ; the Kings of Spain, Italy, Portugal, Den- 
mark, and Wurtemburg; and the Sultan of Tur- 
key. Not long afterwards, ten leading European 
sovereigns met in special session at Paris, and 
voted him a gift of eighty thousand dollars. 

The most wonderful event of the age happened 
later, when another young lady, under the direc- 
tion of Mr. Morse, sent out the following message 
from New York to ten thousand telegraphic in- 
struments : — 

** Greeting and thanks to the telegraphic frater- 
nity throughout all the world — Glory to God in 
the Highest — on earth peace, good will to men!" 

A son of Massachusetts bestowed upon mankind 
another most useful invention — the telephone. 
Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh; 
but he gave all the credit of his discovery to his 
friends in the Old Bay State.' 



THE TELEPHONE 219 

He held a position in Boston University, where 
he taught students to use their voices properly. 
He was, also, successful in teaching the dumb to 
speak. Dr. Bell knew quite a little about elec- 
tricity, and often declared that the human voice 
could be transmitted over a wire. Of course, peo- 
ple laughed at him, as they had at Mr. Morse, and, 
as is always the case, the most ignorant ones 
laughed the loudest. 

A few of his friends furnished the money for 
him to procure and perfect a patent. He gave up 
his position as teacher, and lived in an attic, where 
he worked day and night, applying all the elec- 
trical knowledge he possessed. 

One day, while at work in the next room, Thomas 
A. Watson, his assistant, accidentally struck the 
transmitter. Bell, who was at the receiver, heard 
the sound as distinctly as though he were by the 
side of his assistant. He was greatly excited. 

**Mr. Watson, come here — I want you!" he 
cried over the wire. 

In less than a half minute, Watson had reached 
his side. Together they rejoiced over the first 
clear speech made by telephone.* 

Forty years later. Dr. Bell, in New York, spoke 
over the telephone to Mr. Watson, in San Fran- 
cisco, again telling him to come ; but on that occa- 



220 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

sion it was a week before his assistant could ap- 
pear before him. 

Aside from Mr. Watson, Dr. Bell received 
his greatest help in perfecting the telephone from 
Dr. Francis I. Blake, an ear specialist. In fact, 
Dr. Blake furnished the model of a human ear, 
which Dr. Bell utilized in fashioning his telephone 
receiver. 

At the Centennial Exposition, in Philadelphia, 
Bell gave marvelous demonstrations with his 
newly-completed telephone.^ The visitors were 
amazed, and gathered in vast crowds to see it. He 
invited them all to talk into the transmitter; and 
it is said that no telephone since that time has ever 
been so busy. 

Dr. Bell had trouble with men who tried to steal 
his patent; but the Supreme Court of the United 
States declared, twelve years after the Centennial 
at Philadelphia, that Alexander Graham Bell, of 
Massachusetts, was the real inventor of the tele- 
phone. 

Two tablets have recently been unveiled in Bos- 
ton, by Dr. Bell.^ The first one was placed on the 
front of the Palace Theater, which stands on the 
site of the building where the telephone was 
completed. The second one is on the front of 



THE CABLE 221 

a building in Exeter Street, where the first 
clear telephonic message was transmitted by 
Dr. Bell. 

Cyrus West Field, of Stockbridge, much im- 
pressed by the advantages which the telegraph and 
the telephone afforded, desired to go still further 
and make it possible for the entire world to be in 
close communication. 

After thirteen long years of hard and discour- 
aging work, he succeeded in laying a cable on the 
bed of the Atlantic, between England and the 
United States. The first cable parted after it had 
been laid three hundred miles, at a cost of a half 
million dollars, and the work had to be done over. 
The second cable had been completed, and Presi- 
dent Buchanan and Queen Victoria had exchanged 
messages when, suddenly, it ceased working. An- 
other attempt was made to lay a stronger cable, 
but it broke and the end of it was lost before it 
could be stretched half way across the ocean. 
Although Field was ridiculed by a great many 
people, he was not disheartened. After engaging 
a ship called the Great Eastern to carry the 
necessary materials, he set out to lay another still 
stronger cable. This time the great wire rope did 
not break, nor was the end of it lost in the sea. 



222 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

For more than a half century it has remained in 
good condition. 

We should be grateful to Cyrus West Field for 
completing a process to connect the entire world 
by the use of this wonderful contrivance.'' 

Now many cables cross the Atlantic and the 
Pacific, and messages can be sent around the globe 
in a few hours. As a result, our newspapers are 
able to give us long accounts of the late events 
that are happening everywhere. 

Morse, Bell, and Field, of Massachusetts, rank 
high among the world's greatest inventors. 



CHAPTER XXXV 



INVENTORS AND PIONEEES 



Southern people are grateful for the ingenuity of 
Eli Whitney, of Westborough, one of the first 
Massachusetts inventors. After General Nathan- 
ael Green had driven the British out of Georgia, 
his widow, who was a thrifty New England lady, 
went to work to improve her large plantation near 
Savannah. 

One day, while a guest in the Green home, Eli 
Whitney mended the widow's embroidery frame. 
She was very much pleased with the neatness and 
dispatch he displayed, and upon questioning him 
learned that he had made watches, fiddles, and all 
sorts of useful things from wood and metal. 

**Why don't you invent a machine for cleaning 
cotton?" she asked. ''One man may work from 
dawn till sunset, and yet be able to take the seeds 
from only one pound of cotton." 

This was a fine idea for the brilliant Whitney tc 
ponder over. He immediately opened a workshop, 
where he made his own tools and drew his own 
wire. Then he began to construct and to experi- 



224 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

ment until he had completed a gin that, in a day, 
could clean the seeds from five thousand pounds 
of cotton.^ 

Law-suits followed; for several men made imi- 
tations of Whitney's cotton-gin, and did all they 
could to rob him of his reward. During that time 
he might have starved but for a contract he se- 
cured to make a quantity of fire-arms. 

The renowned Robert Fulton declared that Eli 
"Whitney, by inventing the cotton-gin, had done 
more for the cause of industry than any other in- 
ventor of his age. 

Abner Phelps, a Bosfen boy educated at Wil- 
liams College, is another remarkable man whom 
the people of Massachusetts greatly admire. He 
was much interested in the first railway in the 
United States, which was built between the granite 
quarries of Quincy and the tide waters at Nepon- 
set, three miles away.^ It was considered a won- 
derful contrivance, although to-day it would be re- 
garded as a very crude and clumsy affair. 

During Abner 's boyhood, many railroads were 
planned. The thought came to him that it would 
be a great thing to build a state road through 
Massachusetts to the Hudson river, near Albany, 
so as to open traffic with the West. When he was 



INVENTORS AND PIONEERS 225 

sent to the legislature this was one of the first 
suggestions he made. 

''But what about Hoosac Mountain, in Berk- 
shire County?" asked the doubtful ones. "How 
can a train pass over a mountain two thousand feet 
high and five miles thick?" 

"We will bore a hole through the mountain," 
said Phelps. 

Years passed before he realized his ambition. 
The legislature refused to furnish money; the 
crude tunneling machine broke down; and the 
workmen, in disgust, gave up the task. Then 
Charles Burleigh, a Fitchburg inventor, made a 
drill that could be driven by steam and compressed 
air. It was just what was needed to bore the big 
hole in Hoosac Mountain ; and it was soon tearing 
its way through the solid rock. Work was delayed 
continually because of oozing water, explosions, 
and fires ; and nearly two hundred lives were lost 
before the opening was completed. 

The Hoosac tunnel was the first of its kind in the 
world ; and even in our time it is considered a very 
extraordinary piece of work, ventilated as it is 
by three immense shafts, and illuminated by over 
twelve hundred electric lights.' 

A special volume would be required to name all 



226 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

the inventors, discoverers, and pioneers along va- 
rious lines who came from Massachusetts; but I 
will give you a list of quite a number of them, and 
you can add to it from time to time. 

John Alden, of Plymouth, was the first cooper. 

Thomas Beard, of Plymouth, was the first shoe- 
maker. 

Samuel Willard, of Roxbury, was the first clock- 
maker. 

Aaron L. Dennison and Edward Howard, of 
Boston, made the first American watches. 

John Harmon, of Boston, was the first rope- 
maker. 

Alonzo D. Phillips, of Springfield, made the first 
friction matches. 

Joseph Dixon, of Salem, made the first Ameri- 
can lead-pencils. 

Isaac Stoughton, of Dorchester, built the first 
water-mill for grinding corn. 

Isaac Babbitt, of Taunton, invented Babbitt 
metal and Britannia ware. 

Oliver Edwards, of Springfield, invented the 
Florence oil-stove. 

Ebenezer Butterick, of Sterling, made the first 
tissue-paper dress-patterns. 

William F. Trowbridge, of Feltonville, was the 
first to make shoes by steam-power machinery. 



INVENTORS AND PIONEERS 227 

Abel Stowell, of Worcester, was the first to 
make small hardware articles by machinery. 

James Conant, of Marblehead, was the first to 
make sewing-silk by machinery. 

John Ames, of Springfield, perfected the first 
machine for cutting and ruling paper. 

John Schofield, of Newburyport, made the first 
wool-carding machine. 

Elias Howe, of Spencer, invented the sewing- 
machine. At the Paris Exposition he received a 
gold medal and the cross of the Legion of Honor. 

Jacob Perkins, of Newburyport, made the first 
steel-plate engraving; patented a nail machine; 
invented a rapid-firing gun ; also, an instrument to 
measure the speed of a vessel, and another to 
measure the depth of water. His son. Angler 
March Perkins, established the system of warm- 
ing buildings by steam at high pressure. His 
grandson, Loftus Perkins, also invented many use- 
ful things. 

Theodore Pearson, of Newburyport, was the 
first cracker-baker. 

John Hannan, of Boston, manufactured the first 
chocolate made in the British Provinces of 
America. 

Charles Mitchell, of Boston, began the industry 
of food canning. 



228 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Edward Chaffee, of Roxbury, was the first 
India-rubber manufacturer. 

Frederick Tudor, of Boston, started the first 
American ice business. 

Elijah Alvord, of Greenfield, was the first scien- 
tific dairy farmer. 

David Melville, of Watertown, was the first to 
light his factories with gas. 

Julius Walker Adams, of Boston, was the first 
famous civil engineer. 

Asa Whitney, of Townsend, made the first satis- 
factory car-wheels. 

Henry Davis Minot, of West Roxbury, was the 
first railroad man of his day, and the youngest 
railway president in the history of the nation. 
Although he had spent years trying to perfect 
plans to prevent accident by rail, he was killed in 
a train wreck. 

Francis Allston Channing, of Boston, a Unita- 
rian minister, led the movement to shorten the 
hours of railway employes. 

Charles G. Page, of Salem, made the first sug- 
gestion of a telephone. 

Edward Charles Pickering, of Boston, invented 
a telephone receiver. He also built the observa- 
tory at Harvard University, where he studied the 
relative brightness of over four thousand stars. 



INVENTORS AND PIONEERS 229 

Maria Mitchell, of Nantucket, discovered a 
comet, for which she received a gold medal from 
the King of Denmark. 

Percival Lowell, of Boston, founded the observ- 
atory at Flagstaff, Arizona, where noted astro- 
nomical observations have been made. 

Benjamin Bramin, of Norton, was the first to 
do research work with the microscope. 

Much of our knowledge of physical chemistry 
is due to the researches of Dr. Arthur A. Noyes, 
of Newburyport; although Charles Loring Jack- 
son, of Boston, discovered thirty-eight chemical 
compounds. 

William G. T. Morton, of Boston, discovered the 
power of ether to dull the perception of pain. 

Jeremiah Colburn, of Boston, was the first 
American authority on minerals and coins. 

John Trowbridge, of Boston, established a 
course in physics, at Harvard University, out of 
which grew the Jefferson Physical Laboratory. 

Theodore Lyman, of Waltham, made the first 
scientific experiments for the cultivation and pres- 
ervation of food fishes. 

Henry Larcom Abbott, of Beverly, planned and 
developed the United States system of submarine 
mines for coast and river defense. 

Joseph Henry Walker, of Boston, a Republican 



230 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

congressman for four terms, founded the Walker 
Oakley tanneries at Chicago. 

William Frederick Poole, of Salem, organized 
the Chicago and Cincinnati Public Libraries. 

William Hubbard of Boston was the first his- 
torian, and a member of the first class to grad- 
uate from Harvard College. The state paid him 
two hundred and fifty dollars for his ''History of 
Massachusetts Province." 

Nathaniel Dwight, of Northampton, prepared 
the first school geography; and suggested our 
present system of asylums for the insane. 

Louis Prang, of Roxbury, gave the schools of 
America their first published course in drawing. 

James Campbell, of Boston, brought out the 
first American newspaper. 

Maturin Murray Ballou, of Boston, published 
the first illustrated weekly. 

Ben Perley Poore, of Newburyport, was one of 
the leaders of advanced style in journalistic writ- 
ing. At the age of nineteen, he was made editor 
of a prominent Southern newspaper. Later, he 
became attache of the American Legation at Brus- 
sels; and Historical Agent, in France, for the 
state of Massachusetts. 

James Jackson Jarvis, of Boston, established 
the first newspaper in Honolulu, 



INVENTORS AND PIONEERS 231 

Stephen Daye, of Cambridge, was the first book 
publisher. 

Edward Bellamy, of Chieopee Falls, with the 
publication of his, novel, *' Looking Backward," 
became the first spokesman of ''nationalism." 

Hannah Adams, of Medfield, was the first 
woman in the United States to make writing her 
profession. 

At the age of seventeen, Lydia Maria Child, of 
Medf ord, wrote the first book against slavery. 

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, of Boston, was the 
youngest woman writer to attain fame. At thir- 
teen, her first story appeared in ''Youth's Com- 
panion." 

Elizabeth Cary Agassiz, of Cambridge, was the 
first president of Radcliffe College, formerly 
known as the ' ' Harvard Annex. ' ' 

Clara Barton, of Oxford, was the first president 
of the American Red Cross Society. 

Mary Swift Lamson, of Nantucket, was the first 
pupil of the first class in the first normal school of 
the first state to establish an educational system — 
Massachusetts. 



CHAPTEE XXXVI 



IRISH CITIZENS 



There is nothing in history more pitiful than the 
struggle of the Irish people who came to Massa- 
chusetts to found a home. Imagine the horrors 
of the sixty-five passengers of the Seaflower, 
who came into Boston harbor about the middle of 
the eighteenth century.^ For sixteen long weeks 
they had been rocked by^black and stormy ocean. 
The vessel was out of repair, and they expected at 
any moment to sink into the angry billows that 
seethed about them. Their supply of water had 
failed, and their last morsel of food had been 
eaten when they were but halfway to the Land of 
Promise. Sickness and starvation beset them. 
All the officers of the ship and many of the brave 
little party died in horrible anguish. When all 
hope seemed gone, they were rescued by a man-of- 
war and taken to Boston, although they had in- 
tended to settle in Philadelphia. 

Boston must have seemed like Paradise to these 
suffering people, especially when many of their 

232 



IRISH CITIZENS 233 

own countrymen, who bad arrived a few years be- 
fore, came to meet tbem and to make them com- 
fortable.^ Truly, the early Irish settlers could 
sympathize with the sufferings of the Seaflower 
passengers ; for they, too, had felt the scourge of 
the angry ocean, and the pangs of disease and 
starvation. Many of those who had come over 
from Great Britain, to escape the tyranny of the 
Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, had been sold 
as servants or slaves by those who had paid their 
expenses. 

The first Irish immigrants were not even as wel- 
come as the Pilgrims who had landed at Plymouth. 
In fact, they had a most dreary time of it until 
Captain Robert Temple arrived with a very supe- 
rior Irish colony, and at once began to look after 
the interests of his countrymen.^ Before long, the 
Irish people gained the respect of the older set- 
tlers of Massachusetts; and during all the wars 
that followed, they were noted for their loyalty. 
What thrift and industry they had brought with 
them! The first Association of Irishmen in Bos- 
ton was formed, and everything possible was done 
to promote the welfare of all Irish- American peo- 
ple. A little Catholic church was built ; ^ and the 
Presbyterians bought a barn and converted it into 
a house of worship.^ The English settlers could 



234 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

not but marvel at their progress. A society was 
established to preserve all kinds of industry ; and 
on Boston Common, women came by the hundreds 
to take part in spinning contests. They wore gar- 
ments they themselves had made, prettily fash- 
ioned and embroidered. A band of music invited 
them to do their best, while the men looked on and 
gave liberal praise to the winners. 

During the War of the Revolution, there were 
no patriots more earnest than the Irish. Offices of 
trust and responsibility were given them, which 
were never betrayed. They held to the traditions 
of Massachusetts, and worked gradually to the 
fore until in our time we find them holding the re- 
sponsible positions of governor, mayor, and any 
other post where ability is required. 

Daniel Malcolm was one of the first Irishmen 
to be honored by the provincial government. He 
was appointed meat inspector, and right well did 
he discharge his duty. Some revenue officers, sus- 
pecting that he had prohibited goods in his posses- 
sion, began to search his place of business, without 
warrant. When Malcolm caught them making 
themselves so free with his property, he chased 
them out, exhibiting such fury that they feared to 
return. 

When Governor Gage was stationed at the Gas- 



IRISH CITIZENS 235 

tie, a ship stored with wine and other goods ar- 
rived in Boston harbor, from Madeira. The ves- 
sel was owned by John Hancock; and a part of 
the wine was consigned to Malcolm, who took 
several strapping fellows along with him to con- 
vey it to his place of business. 

Before long, the British were raging because 
there had been an attempt to evade the duty on 
the cargo. Governor Gage threatened to seize 
Hancock's ship, and wreak his vengeance upon 
her. A fight followed, in which Malcolm figured 
boldly. Swords were broken, and many severe 
bruises were exchanged; but no lives were lost. 
Malcolm and his American followers were 
crowned with victory, especially when they stole 
an old boat used by the revenue collector, and 
burned it on Boston Common. 

After that exhibition of courage, Malcolm was 
placed on all important committees, with such men 
as James Otis, Sam Adams, John Adams, and 
John Hancock. He was buried on Copp's Hill, in 
the city's oldest cemetery, and during the Siege of 
Boston his tombstone was used for target practice 
by the more resentful British soldiers. 

You must have observed that among the Massa- 
chusetts people introduced to you in this great 
American drama, there are many illustrious Irish 



236 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

patriots. For instance, there is John Hancock, 
the exalted governor, who signed the Declaration 
of Independence. When the old barn was bought, 
to be used as a Presbyterian church, Hancock 
equipped it with a bell and a vane. 

Another Irishman, Major General Henry Knox, 
the handsome Boston book-seller, rose to distinc- 
tion and became the intimate friend of General 
Washington. 

Robert Treat Paine, another signer of the Dec- 
laration of Independence, whose fine old home on 
Beacon Hill is one of the landmarks of Boston, 
was Irish, as was John Boyle O'Reilly, the pic- 
turesque poet, whose statue guards Fenway 
Park. 

Peter Pelham was the founder of the Irish So- 
ciety. He married the widow of Richard Copley. 
Mrs. Copley was keeping a tobacco store on Long 
Wharf, Boston, when Pelham fell in love with her. 
John Singleton Copley, her son by her first hus- 
band, became a distinguished painter and a patron 
of arts. One of his best works is a portrait of his 
beloved half-brother, Henry Pelham. John Cop- 
ley's son was a brilliant lawyer, Lord Chancellor 
of England, and a British peer with the title of 
Lord Lyndhurst. 

Robert Auchmuty was a noted Irish wit who did 



IRISH CITIZENS 237 

much to organize the expedition sent out to cap- 
ture Louisburg. 

James Boies, it is said, found an Irish immigrant 
weeping bitterly on the road that leads to Milton. 
He helped the unhappy man to get back to Ire- 
land. Dean Swift, upon hearing of the Irishman 's 
adventures, was inspired to write '* Gulliver's 
Travels," which has become a classic. 

James Sullivan was a noted organizer of troops, 
a writer, a governor of the state — and an Irish- 
man. 

Then there is the famous Jackson family: 
Charles Jackson, Judge of the Supreme Court of 
Massachusetts; his brother, James, one of the 
greatest physicians the world has ever known; 
and another brother, Patrick Tracy Jackson, who 
with Francis C. Lowell established cotton mills 
and introduced the power loom into New England. 
Together they invented a model for which Paul 
Moody made a machine, and built a mill at Wal- 
tham.* This was the first factory in the world 
to combine all the processes of turning raw cotton 
into finished cloth. They, also, founded the flour- 
ishing city of Lowell, which is known as the ''City 
of Spindles." 

The Most Reverend John J. Williams, of Irish 
blood, was the first Archbisliop of Boston. Cap- 



238 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

tain Eoy Gardner established the fund to buy 
books for Irish school children, and spent his life 
improving the conditions of the poor. 

There are scores of Irish patriots who helped 
to make Massachusetts, and there are thousands 
of their sons and daughters who have proved 
worthy of their early sacrifices. 



CHAPTER XXXVn 



DISTINGUISHED AUTHORS 



Another way in which Massachusetts gained 
fame is shown by the long list of her sons and 
daughters who turned toward literature, and left 
so many charming things to read. If you should 
visit the historic town of Concord, with her wind- 
ing driveways and great, overhanging trees, you 
would find yourselves in the first literary center 
of the Union. Now most of the early celebrities 
are sleeping in the Old Burial Ground, with its 
ancient grave-stones. Not far from the first Con- 
cord grape-vine still stands the comfortable home 
in which Louisa May Alcott and the other *' Little 
Women" lived, years ago.^ 

What would interest you most would be the 
lovely old Sleepy Hollow Cemetery with its green 
hills and venerable trees. There rises the massive 
pink bowlder that marks the grave of Ralph Waldo 
Emerson. Close by, is the burial lot of Henry 
David Thoreau, the nature lover who wrote so 
many quaint stories about squirrels, birds, ants, 



240 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

and bees.^ Then there are the little white tomb- 
stones of the Alcott family; and, not far distant, 
the resting place of the famous novelist, Nathan- 
iel Hawthorne. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a most remarkable 
man in many ways.^ His good looks first attracted 
the stranger ; but it was his gentle ways and beau- 
tiful manner of thought that endeared him to all 
who knew him. He was born in Salem, and, after 
the death of his parents, was educated by an uncle. 
A misfortune in his early youth opened the way 
to his future career. He became lame, and had to 
sit quietly while the other boys were playing ball 
or running wild in the woods. To amuse himself, 
he began a course of reading, and formed the ex- 
cellent habit of studying all the best masters of 
literature until he could not possibly do without 
them. 

When a young man, he became acquainted with 
the famous Peabody family, of Salem. Dr. Pea- 
body had three charming daughters, Elizabeth, 
Mary, and Sophia. The youngest of these was a 
very delicate girl, but highly accomplished; for 
she could write very pleasing stories, paint won- 
derful landscapes, carve marble statues, and keep 
house in the perfect New England style. Eliza- 



DISTINGUISHED AUTHOKS 241 

beth was an author, and very studious in her hab- 
its.* Mary was a lively, wholesome girl, who, 
later, became the wife of the great Horace Mann. 

Hawthorne and Sophia Peabody fell in love and 
were married. Although he was not able to give 
his wife many luxuries, she was quite contented, 
and helped him to the goal of his ambition. His 
novel entitled '^The Scarlet Letter" was the talk 
of America, and became just as popular in Eng- 
land. Then his ' ' Wonder Book ' ' and his ' ' Tangle- 
wood Tales," written for children, proved tnat 
he was versatile enough to write stories for people 
of all ages. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne went abroad with his lit- 
tle family. He had been appointed Consul to Liv- 
erpool, and the position gave him an opportunity 
to travel and to associate with people of superior 
intellect and culture. Sophia was as happy as a 
child, and together they visited the Brownings 
and other famous English writers, Florence 
Nightingale, members of the nobility, and many 
statesmen. They finally went to sunny Italy for 
a long rest, where Hawthorne wrote his master- 
piece, "The Marble Faun." 

Then they settled in a fine old home at Concord, 
called '* Wayside," to lead free, happy, indus- 
trious New England lives. The Civil War de- 



242 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

pressed Hawthorne to such a degree that it was 
impossible for him to write. His health began to 
fail, and he consented to take a trip with Presi- 
dent Pierce, his old school-mate at Bowdoin Col- 
lege. During the journey he died in a hotel at 
Plymouth, New Hampshire. 

His widow was almost overcome by the news of 
his death, but she controlled herself bravely for 
the sake of her children. Noted people from all 
over the world came to her assistance in her hour 
of deep sorrow. When she turned away from her 
husband's grave, in Sleepy Hollow Burial Ground, 
she passed through two long lines of famous men, 
including Louis Agassiz, James Eussell Lowell, 
Ealph Waldo Emerson, John Greenleaf Whittier, 
Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Franklin Pierce. 

Her son, Julian, became a well-known writer; 
also, her daughter Rose, who was married to the 
author, George Parsons Lathrop. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson was another Massachu- 
setts lad whose body was not as robust as his 
mind.^ For eight generations, the men of his fam- 
ily had been ministers of the Gospel, so it was but 
natural that he should feel that he had a message 
for mankind. He was only fourteen when he en- 
tered Harvard College, where he became an able 



DISTINGUISHED AUTHORS 243 

Latin and Greek scholar. At twenty, he began to 
prepare for the ministry; but his health broke 
down, and he went South for a rest and a change 
of climate. 

He married Ellen Louisa Tucker, who died soon 
after, leaving him quite wretched in his loneliness, 
but determined to preach and to write hopeful 
things for humanity. He went abroad, where he 
met such notable writers as "Wordsworth, Cole- 
ridge, Carlyle, Dickens, Thackeray, and Tenny- 
son. Upon his return to ''The Manse," in Con- 
cord, he continued his useful career, and, later, 
married Lydia Jackson, of Plymouth, a lecturer 
and writer of essays. Their home was a seat for 
the learned people of the time. Harvard con- 
ferred upon Emerson the degree of Doctor of 
Laws, which honor was followed by many 
others. 

With the completion of the. Battle Monument, 
erected in memory of the soldiers who had fallen 
in the Civil "War, his immortal hymn was sung, for 
the first time, to the tune of ''Old Hundred" : — 

"Spirit, that made these heroes dare 
To die, and leave their children free, 
Bid Time and Nature gently spare 
The shaft we raise to them and thee." etc. 



244 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Another learned New England writer lived for 
some time in the classic town of Cambridge. 
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow really was a Maine 
man; but like the celebrated authors, Thomas 
Bailey Aldrich of New Hampshire, Edmund Clar- 
ence Stedman of Connecticut, William Dean How- 
ells of Ohio, and Louisa May Alcott of Pennsylva- 
nia, he did his best work in the Old Bay State.® 

One day, he knocked at the door of a famous 
house in Brattle Street, Cambridge. Dame Craigie 
came to him, and smiled when he asked for a room. 

**I no longer lodge students," announced the 
lady. 

*'But I am a professor," said Longfellow, with 
dignity. 

So she invited him to enter, and soon had him 
comfortably at home in the room General Wash- 
ington had occupied. 

Indeed, it is no wonder that Longfellow should 
be inspired to write such splendid poems under a 
roof so noted for its traditions ! The house had 
been built by Colonel John Vassall, a Tory, who 
had been compelled to flee with the Britishers. 
George and Martha Washington had spent many 
anxious but happy weeks there ; and distinguished 
men of the country had enjoyed their hospitality. 

Longfellow had begun to write poems when a 



DISTINGUISHED AUTHORS 245 

mere child, the first one having been published 
when he was but thirteen years old; and by the 
time he had married Mary Storer Potter, a daugh- 
ter of Judge Potter, of Portland, he was on the 
high road to success. When his young wife died, 
he continued writing, and his poems were tinged 
with sweet and impressive sadness. 

His best work was done in that old historic man- 
sion at Cambridge. It will please you to know 
that the great poet married for his second wife 
Frances Elizabeth Appleton ; and that her father 
presented them with this grand old home that 
Longfellow had always wanted to own. He wrote 
one delightful poem after another, including 
** Evangeline," *'The Reaper and the Flowers," 
'' Hiawatha," ''The Village Blacksmith," and 
''The Courtship of Miles Standish." 

During his trips abroad, he met Queen Victoria, 
at Windsor Castle; the Duke and Duchess of 
Argyle, and many other noblemen and prominent 
leaders in thought and fashion. He did not 
dream, however, that upon his death, England 
would honor him by placing his bust in the Poets ' 
Corner of Westminster Abbey. 

His last days were sad, for his lovely wife 
dropped some burning wax into her lap, and her 
muslin dress was soon in flames. She died in ter- 



246 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

rible agony, and her devoted husband was severely- 
injured trying to rescue her. Mrs. Longfellow 
was buried on the anniversary of their wedding 
day. 

James Russell Lowell was another beloved Cam- 
bridge poet.^ In fact, he lived and died there, 
close to the Longfellow home. He was a scholar 
and a gentleman — one of a long line of Lowells, 
after whom a flourishing Massachusetts city was 
named. 

When you are a little older, you will be able to 
appreciate the poems written by this genial man, 
who with his quaint humor and otherwise happy 
manner of expression shed lasting sunshine. 

Thomas Wentworth Higginson was a dear 
friend and neighbor of James Russell Lowell.^ 
This bright boy entered Harvard College when he 
was only thirteen years old, and he became a pro- 
fessor, a preacher, and an author. He was, also, 
elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature, 
and served on the State Board of Education. He 
married a niece of William Ellery Channing, and 
was prominent in all plans for the betterment of 
the government. His simple rules for public 
speaking may be of help to you : — 



DISTINGUISHED AUTHORS 247 

Have something that you really desire to say. 
Always speak naturally, and in a conversational 

manner. 
Never carry a scrap of paper before an audience. 
Plan out your remarks as simply and orderly as 

possible. 
Give your mind a rest before you speak. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes, another bright star in 
the Cambridge firmament of writers, also won dis- 
tinction as a lawyer and a physician.'' He was a 
descendant of Governors Dudley and Bradstreet, 
of Massachusetts, and married Amelia Lee Jack- 
son, a daughter of Judge Charles Jackson of the 
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Cour- 
teous in manner, well versed in all branches of 
learning, and a finished poet and orator, his name 
is sure to stand the test of time. Among his 
poems that you may enjoy are: **The Wonderful 
One-Hoss Shay," ^'Old Ironsides," '^The Last 
Leaf, ' * and ' ' The Chambered Nautilus. ' ' His son, 
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Junior, was a distin- 
guished lawyer, who won degrees at Harvard, 
Edinburgh, and Oxford Universities. For some 
time, he held the high position which his grand- 
father, Judge Jackson, had graced so splendidly, 



248 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

and, eventually, became Judge of the Supreme 
Court of the United States. 

William CuUen Bryant was bom at Cumming- 
ton.^° No poet ever loved nature more dearly, and 
perhaps there is no writer whose work is more ap- 
preciated. Wlien barely nineteen, he wrote 
''Thanatopsis," a poem that brought him fame. 
About the same time, he composed another, en- 
titled ''To a Water Fowl," which many think is 
the finest short poem ever written. 

Although Bryant began to write verses when 
he was only eight years old, most of his work 
will appeal more to readers older than yourselves. 
He was very conscientious in expressing his 
thoughts, was careful in his choice of words, and 
in speaking watched his pronunciation carefully. 
All his life he prayed that he might be able to 
write poems that would live. 

William Hickling Prescott, of Salem, was a fa- 
mous historian, who, also, achieved high honors; 
but he had to experience the sorrows that come to 
us all." When quite young, a playmate struck 
him in the face with a hard crust of bread, and he 
lost the use of one eye. During the rest of his life 
he suffered great pain, but worked unceasingly 



DISTINGUISHED AUTHORS 249 

on his great history, ''The Conquest of Mexico," 
and other volumes equally accurate and interest- 
ing. Washington Irving, another famous Ameri- 
can writer, was one of his warmest friends. 

Prescott demonstrated to his associates that the 
memory can be trained to a higher degree than 
most people supposed. Even when almost blind, 
and suffering violent pain, he would plan page 
after page of work, down to the smallest detail. 
Later, he would copy every sentence he had stored 
in his memory, without having to change a solitary 
phrase or mark of punctuation. 

Edward Everett Hale was a giant among his 
fellows — so prominent that Boston has honored 
him with a statue in the Public Garden.^^ He 
shared the courage of his grand-uncle, Nathan 
Hale, who said, when he was led out to execution 
as a spy, during the War of the Revolution: ''I 
regret that I have but one life to lose for my 
country." 

Hale was a clergyman and an advocate for jus- 
tice and humanity. His father had succeeded in 
establishing the first steam railway in Massachu- 
setts; and, when he bought a newspaper, the Ad- 
vertiser, prepared his son to manage all the de- 
tails of the business. Unlike many boys whose 



250 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

fathers can afford to give tliem such a good start 
in life, Edward was hard-working and apprecia- 
tive. Before he was eleven years old, he had 
translated a tale from the French language ; and 
while still a youth, he was editing his father's 
newspaper. 

His story, ''The Man Without a Country," is 
sufficient to keep his fame secure; but he wrote 
many other extraordinary things. ''Ten Times 
One Is Ten" led to the founding of charity clubs 
all over America, Europe, Asia, and the Islands 
of the Pacific. The "Look-up Legion" is a Sun- 
day-school organization due to his influence. You 
all know his motto that seems to be the slogan of 
all religious charitable movements: — 



'■&■' 



* ' Look up and not down ; 
Look forward and not back; 
Look out and not in ; 
Lend a hand." 

Charles Dudley Warner, of Plainfield, had not 
many of the advantages bestowed upon other 
Massachusetts boys.^^ He spent his youth on his 
father's farm, and thought he had attained suc- 
cess when he became a clerk in a drug shop. His 
bright imagination and delicious humor were his 
principal characteristics, and stood him in good 



DISTINGUISHED AUTHORS 251 

stead when he won a desirable position with the 
old Hartford Courant. His stories are still 
read with delight by American boys and girls 
everywhere. 

John Greenleaf Whittier was born near Haver- 
hill.^* He was a Quaker, so poor that he had to 
borrow books to read during his few leisure hours 
on the farm. At the age of nineteen, his first poem 
was published in the Newburyport Free Press. 
His father could not afford to educate him, so the 
boy made slippers for ladies and earned enough 
to go to school at Haverhill Academy for six 
months. He, also, studied at night school, and was 
at last able to express his thoughts in clear and 
appropriate English. His sister Elizabeth was a 
great inspiration to him ; and he immortalized her 
in ''Snow Bound," one of the most beautiful 
poems ever written. 

Unlike many renowned writers, John Greenleaf 
Whittier always helped those who were struggling 
for recognition. He encouraged Lucy Larcom, a 
factory girl of Lowell, who wrote a number of 
very fine poems.^^ Although Lucy's mother kept 
a boarding-house, and the girl was busy day and 
night attending to the many duties that filled her 
life, she and some other young women published 



252 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

a paper called the Lowell Offering. The verses 
of Lucy Larcom will live forever, principally be- 
cause they are fraught with purpose and spring 
from a true heart. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 



MOKE ABOUT THE HUB 



Visitors walking the peaceful streets of Boston in 
these modern days, might hardly believe that this 
great capital of Massachusetts has been scourged 
more than any other American city. There is 
scarcely any hardship that she has not endured, 
from a siege of war to earthquakes and rattle- 
snakes/ Wolves and bears, as fierce as those that 
attacked the settlers of the West, were too plenti- 
ful for comfort during the early part of the eight- 
eenth century.^ Asiatic cholera and yellow fever 
were among the many horrors that have entered 
Boston harbor.^ The great fire — in which sixty- 
three acres were laid in ruins, and many lives 
were lost — was only one of a long train of mis- 
fortunes that have but stimulated her prosperity.* 
A great many tourists go to Boston each year. 
They take trips by motor-car to Bunker Hill ; the 
burial grounds, and the business part of the city, 
to see the Old State House, the Old South Meet- 
ing House, Christ Church, Faneuil Hall, and 



254 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

scores of other famous places. They all want to 
see the wealthy suburbs of Brookline and Newton ; 
and the historic towns of Cambridge, Arlington, 
Lexington, Concord, Watertown, Sudbury, and 
others equally as interesting. If they are so for- 
tunate as to have much time at their disposal, they 
"wdll take longer trips to the industrious cities of 
Fall River, New Bedford, Taunton, Quincy, Marl- 
borough, Salem, Lynn, Lowell, Haverhill, and 
Lawrence. They can go by boat to the delightful 
summer resorts of Gloucester, Marblehead, Na- 
hant. Revere, Nantasket, Plymouth, and Province- 
town. They will surely spend hours on Boston 
Common and in the Public Garden, and many 
other places dear to the hearts of Bostonians. 

Many of the finest landmarks of the place were 
destroyed by the Great Fire, including the build- 
ing in which the first court was held, and many 
quaint old residences with stick and mud chim- 
neys.^ In their places have sprung up institutions 
of learning, beautiful churches, unique shops, fine 
statuary, and scores of other attractive sights. 

Old Boston was proud of the Castle, which was 
romantically situated out in the harbor.' The 
Royal Governors liked to be there as much as 
possible, away from the criticism of the colonists. 
The first store opened in Boston was owned by 



MORE ABOUT THE HUB 255 

John Coogan, who had come over to this country 
with John Winthrop. These two, with Governor 
Bellingham, who held office several years after 
Winthrop 's time, laid the business foundation of 
Boston. Coogan is called the "Father of Mer- 
chants, ' ' because he was the first ; and a very en- 
terprising one he was. He became wealthy, and 
married the widow of John Winthrop. Coogan 
gave nearly two hundred acres of land to Harvard 
University, and left to his heirs two stores in 
Boston, and several mills in Charlestown, Wo- 
burn, and Maiden. 

The Faneuil family were among the old settlers, 
and they bought a little piece of ground next to the 
lot owned by Governor Bellingham. It may 
amuse you to know that before they could join the 
colony of Boston, they had to give bonds that they 
would not become public charges. The Faneuils 
proved themselves most useful citizens. Peter 
Faneuil gave a hall and market-place to the town. 
Although Boston was in need of such a building, 
Faneuil had a hard time to induce her to accept it. 
This structure was burned just before the War of 
the Revolution, but a new hall rose over its ashes, 
topped with a vane made by Shem Drown. 

You have heard how James Otis, John and Sam 
Adams, and other patriots made these old 



256 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

walls ring with their' defense of American free- 
dom. 

During the Siege of Boston, Faneuil Hall was 
used as a playhouse by British soldiers and their 
Tory friends. One night, when General Bur- 
goyne was conducting a farce for the amusement 
of society, sudden excitement was aroused by the 
hurried entrance of a sergeant. 

''All officers to their posts!" he shouted, at the 
top of his voice. ' ' The Yankees are attacking the 
British ranks at Charlestown ! " 

That was the last farce ever attempted in Fan- 
euil Hall. 

Peter Faneuil grew so rich and so powerful that 
it must have been a source of shame to the old con- 
servative citizens who had wanted him to give 
bond that he would not become a public 
charge. History relates that he established the 
first trust, when he and Governor John Hancock 
and a few others persuaded the Massachusetts 
General Court to pass a law giving them the ex- 
clusive privilege of making paper in the colony for 
ten years.^ Anyone else who should dare to man- 
ufacture paper was to be fined twenty shillings. 
This scheme was not successful. Jeremiah Smith 
bought the business, and was known as the first 
maker of paper. 



MORE ABOUT THE HUB 257 

During this period, slavery existed at Boston.^ 
Negroes and Indians were sold, and nobody had 
any trouble keeping servants. The Puritans were 
opposed to this traffic, and roundly denounced the 
wealthy townsmen who owned slaves. 

The first commercial traveler in New England 
was George Story, who arrived during the gover- 
norship of Sir Harry Vane.^ He went from house 
to house selling small articles of merchandise until 
the staid people of Boston complained. It was 
decided that he was an undesirable citizen and an 
alien ; so he was arrested, tried, and fined by the 
magistrate, Captain Kleayne. 

Story remained in Boston at the boarding-house 
of good Mrs. Sherman. He vowed that he would 
punish Captain Kleayne at the first opportunity. 
Before long, Mrs. Sherman's pig was lost in State 
Street. Captain Kleayne had it cried through the 
town; but no one claiming it, he kept it. More 
than that, he fattened it, killed it, and ate it. 

Story at once saw his opportunity to denounce 
the aristocratic magistrate for stealing, butcher- 
ing and devouring the only pig of a poor widow. 
My, but Captain Kleayne was angry! He fined 
Widow Sherman one hundred dollars; but he 
could not reach Story, although that mischief- 



258 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

maker was flying about relating the sad tale of 
the widow and her pig. He induced the lady to 
carry the case to the General Court, and a deci- 
sion was rendered against Captain Kleayne. 
George Story considered it the wiser policy to 
leave town. 

About this time, another suspicious character 
from Boston was arrested in Plymouth for wear- 
ing shocking red hose on the streets, in broad day- 
light. At the trial, the poor wretch broke down, 
and admitted that he had stolen the stockings in 
Boston. So the Plymouth magistrate doubled the 
fine, and sent the gay apparel back to their owner. 

Although there were two older cemeteries, the 
more aristocratic people preferred to bury their 
dead in the Granary Burial Ground, especially 
after it became dignified by the grave of the first 
mayor, John Phillips, the victims of the Boston 
Massacre, Paul Revere, three signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, and six gover- 
nors."* 

In those days, there were other famous minis- 
ters besides the Cottons and Mathers. One of the 
first evangelists was George Whitefield, who was 
so magnetic in personality and so eloquent in 



MORE ABOUT THE HUB 259 

speech that he could ''raise the roof." This odd 
phrase is still in use, as you well know. 

Ipswich, near Boston, has a legend of much in- 
terest. It is solemnly stated that while the pow- 
erful Whitefield was preaching there, Satan ap- 
peared on the ridge-pole of the roof, where he sat 
with folded arms impudently looking on and lis- 
tening. Finally, be became terrified at the min- 
ister's eloquence, especially when the roof began 
to rise. With piercing shrieks, he jumped from 
the ridge-pole, making a heavy foot-print upon 
the stone he struck when he alighted. 

Jesse Lee, the first preacher of Methodism, was, 
also, noted for his eloquence, although there is no 
record that he ever raised the roof, or that his 
Satanic Majesty ever paid him a visit. 

The first Baptist meeting-house in Massachu- 
setts Province was a very humble building." The 
Baptists, disliked by the Puritans and driven from 
one place to another, at last settled in East Bos- 
ton, which in those days was called ''Noddles' 
Island." 

There were two popular places where men met 
to discuss politics and the problems of the day. 
One was the Old Corner Bookstore ; ^- the other, 
the Green Dragon Tavern. At this famous inn, 
the Boston Tea Party was planned. It was a pic- 



260 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

turesque old place, blazoned by a sign represent- 
ing a green dragon with curled tail and protrud- 
ing tongue, hanging from an iron crane. At the 
rear of the building was a garden. Men and boys 
gathered at the Green Dragon to see the stage- 
coach come in with news of the outside world." 
Not far away were the first warehouse in New 
England," built by Joshua Scottaw, and the first 
New England bank." 

At that time, Boston Common was a pasture 
where soldiers drilled, boys flew kites, and cattle 
roamed at leisure. Many public executions took 
place on this noted stretch of land, which was 
often the scene of strife and bloodshed. Men and 
boys who swore on the streets, or smoked tobacco 
on Sunday, were frequently tied to whipping-posts 
erected there, and given as many lashes as the 
offense seemed to demand. 

Boston, however, when the new Eepublic was 
born, seems to have been the first city to lend her 
patronage to amusements. We learn that thou- 
sands packed Concert Hall to see Rose Richard- 
son, a girl eight years old, who weighed five hun- 
dred pounds. The first Baby Show in the Union, 
held in Boston, was such a tremendous success 
that a rival exhibition of infants was made, a few 
doors away, at the same time." 



MORE ABOUT THE HUB 261 

The Massachusetts Historical Society is the old- 
est in the country." The Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology, founded by William B. Rogers and 
others, was the first to apply science to arts, agri- 
culture, manufacture, and commerce.^* The 
Massachusetts Medical Society is the earliest state 
association that has met regularly since the date 
of its founding.^^ The first musical organization 
is the Handel and Haydn Society.'" This, with 
the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and similar in- 
stitutions, financed by such public-spirited men as 
Major Henry Lee Higginson, have placed Boston 
first among American cities as a musical center. 

Since the gala day when the Hub City cele- 
brated her two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, 
many other notable events have happened to mark 
her progress.'^ Starting as a strict and conserva- 
tive village, she has developed into a municipality 
respected for its broadness of view and independ- 
ence of thought. If the early Puritans could see 
Boston now, they would be astounded beyond 
words that from an unfavorable beginning should 
arise such a noble and beautiful city. 



LIST OF NINETEENTH CENTURY 
CELEBRITIES 

These people (all born in Massachusetts over fifty 
years ago) helped to enlighten the nineteenth century. 
You will find the full name of each one, the date of 
his birth, the name of his native town, and a word or 
more concerning his profession. 

Lyman Abbott, 1835, Roxbury; clergyman and 
editor. 

Charles FoUen Adams, 1842, Dorchester; writer and 
soldier. 

Charles Francis Adams, 1835, Boston; soldier and 
authority on railway affairs. 

Henry Adams, 1838, Boston ; diplomat, professor, and 
writer. 

William Taylor Adams, "Oliver Optic," 1822, Med- 
way; writer of children's stories. 

Horatio Alger, 1834, Revere; author of books for 
young people. 

Joel Asaph Allen, 1838, Otis; authority on birds. 

Joseph Ames, 1816, Roxbury; portrait painter. 

Oliver Ames, 1831, Boston ; statesman. 

Jane Goodwin Austin, 1831, Worcester; historical 
novelist. 

George Bancroft, 1800, Worcester ; historian. 

Jacob Bigelow, 1787, Boston ; botanist. 

Frank Bolles, 1856, Winchester ; another authority on 
birds. 



19TH CENTURY CELEBRITIES 263 

Nathaniel Bowditch, 1773, Salem ; mathematician and 
writer. 

Charles Bulfinch, 1763, Boston; succeeded B. H. 
Latrobe as architect of the national capitol. 

James Elliott Cabot, 1821, Boston; biographer. 

George Whitefield Chadwick, 1854, Lowell ; author of 
several celebrated oratorios. 

John White Chadwick, 1840, Marblehead; theologian, 
reviewer, and editor. 

James "VVells Champney, 1843, Boston ; artist. 

Edward Channing, 1856, Dorchester; historian. 

Charlotte Cushman, 1816, Boston ; actress. 

Richard Henry Dana, 1787, Cambridge; editor and 
poet. 

Richard Henry Dana, Junior, 1815, Cambridge; au- 
thority on marine and international law. 

Emily Dickinson, 1830, Amherst ; poet. 

Mary Abigail Dodge, "Gail Hamilton," 1838, Ham- 
ilton; writer. 

Nathan Haskell Dole, 1852, Chelsea; editor, trans- 
lator, and author. 

Timothy Dwight, 1752, Northampton; Yale president 
and chaplain in the Revolutionary Army. 

Alice Morse Earle, 1853, Worcester ; authority on folk 
lore and antiques. 

Elaine Goodale Eastman, 1863, Berkshire County; 
Indian teacher and writer, 

Jonathan Edwards, 1745, Northampton; clergyman. 

Charles William Eliot, 1834, Boston; Harvard Uni- 
versity president. 

Henry Martyn Field, 1822, Stockbridge ; entered Wil- 
liams College at the age of twelve; author, editor, and 
clergyman. 



264 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Annie Fields, 1834, Boston ; biographer. 

Eliza Lee Cabot FoUen, 1787, Boston ; writer of songs 
and children's stories. 

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, 1862, Kandolph; stories of 
New England life. 

Alice French, ''Octave Thanet," 1850, Andover; 
author. 

Ellen Frothingham, 1835, Boston ; translator from the 
German. 

Nathaniel Frothingham, 1793, Boston ; clergyman and 
writer. 

Octavius Brooks Frothingham, 1822, Boston ; religious 
and biographical writer. 

William Henry Furness, 1802, Boston; writer and 
translator. 

Walter Gay, 1856, Hingham, artist; medals from 
Paris Salon and Paris Exposition. 

James R. Gilmore, ''Edmund Kirke," 1823, Boston; 
publisher and writer. 

Benjamin Althorp Gould, 1824, Boston ; astronomer. 

Robert Grant, 1852, Boston; novelist and miscella- 
neous writer. 

Adolphus Washington Greely, 1844, Newburyport; 
Arctic explorer. 

Samuel Abbott Green, 1830, Groton; historian, physi- 
cian, and a mayor of Boston. 

Curtis Guild, 1828, Boston ; editor and writer. 

Curtis Guild, Junior, 1860, Boston; governor of 
Massachusetts three terms; ambassador to Russia. 

Louise Imogen Guiney, 1861, Boston; poet. 

James Hall, 1837, Hingham ; geologist. He made won- 
derful research in Canada, New York, Iowa, and Wis- 
consin. 



19TH CENTURY CELEBRITIES 265 

Arthur Sherburne Hardy, 1847, Andover; diplomat, 
novelist, and mathematician. 

Caroline Lee Hentz, 1804, Lancaster; writer of books 
for children. 

Edward Hitchcock, 1793, Deerfield; made a geological 
survey of Massachusetts, and was sent by the state to 
visit the agricultural schools of Europe. 

George Frisbie Hoar, 1826, Concord ; statesman. 

Charles Frederick Holder, 1851, Lynn; zoologist. 

J. G. Holland, 1819, Belchertown; author of ''Bitter 
Sweet" and many other novels. 

Mark Hopkins, 1802, Stockbridge; educational pro- 
moter, and a president of Williams College. 

Mark Hopkins, Junior, 1851, Williamstown ; London 
journalist. 

Caroline W. Horton, 1829, Manchester; writer and 
educator. 

John James Ingalls, 1833, Middleton; statesman; 
served three years as Kansas state senator. 

Helen Hunt Jackson, 1831, Amherst; author of 
"Ramona" and other novels. 

Sylvester Judd, 1813, "Westhampton ; clergyman and 
writer. 

Jonas King, 1792, Hawley; missionary and professor 
of Oriental languages at Amherst College. 

Samuel Pierpont Langley, 1834, Roxbury; astrono- 
mer. 

William Lawrence, 1850, Boston; Bishop of Massa- 
chusetts. 

Alfred Lee, 1807, Cambridge ; Bishop of Delaware. 

Susan Inches Lesley, 1823, Northampton ; writer. 

Henry Cabot Lodge, 1850, Boston ; statesman, lecturer, 
and historian. 



266 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Abbott Lawrence Lowell, 1856, Boston ; lawyer and a 
president of Harvard University. 

Edward Jackson Lowell, 1845, Boston ; lawyer, writer, 
and historian. 

Francis Cabot Lowell, 1855, Boston; statesman and 
writer. 

Charles F. Lummis, 1859, Lynn ; writer. 

Francis Davis Millet, 1846, Mattapoisett ; artist; re- 
ceived medals in France, Belgium, and Roumania. 

Dwight Lyman Moody, 1837, Northfield; evangelist. 

John Lothrop Motley, 1814, Boston; diplomat and 
author. 

Charles Eliot Norton, 1827, Cambridge; editor and 
historian. 

Emma Aline Osgood, 1852, Boston ; oratorio singer. 

Frances Sargent Osgood, 1812, Boston; poet. 

Margaret Fuller Ossoli, 1810, Cambridge; writer. 
Wife of Marquis d 'Ossoli ; both drowned off the coast of 
Maine, in 1850. 

Robert Treat Paine, Junior, 1773, Boston ; poet. 

Horatio William Parker, 1863, Boston; musical com- 
poser. 

Theodore Parker, 1810, Lexington ; author. 

Francis Parkman, 1823, Boston ; novelist, essayist, and 
horticulturist. 

Maria Parloa, 1843, Boston ; established the first cook- 
ing schools, and wrote the first cook books. 

Henry Martyn Paul, 1851, Dorchester ; astronomer. 

Andrew Preston Peabody, 1811, Beverly; preacher 
and writer. 

Francis Greenwood Peabody, 1847, Boston ; professor 
and writer. 

Charles Sprague Pearce, 1851, Boston; artist, better 
known abroad. 



19TH CENTURY CELEBRITIES 267 

Benjamin Peirce, 1809, Salem; mathematician, as- 
tronomer, and a writer of text-books. 

Charles Callahan Perkins, 1822, Boston ; art historian ; 
one of the founders of the Boston Art Museum. 

Thomas Handasyd Perkins, 1764, Boston; founded 
Perkins Asylum for the Blind. 

Bliss Perry, 1860, "Williamstown ; educator and 
author. 

Nora Perry, 1832, Dudley; began to write for maga- 
zines at eighteen.- 

Eben Plympton, 1853, Boston ; actor. 

Edgar Allan Poe, 1809, Boston; poet. Shortly after 
his birth his parents moved to Baltimore. 

Maria Louise Pool, 1854, Rockland ; novelist. 

Josiah Quincy, 1772, Boston; congressman, senator, 
president of Harvard, mayor of Boston. 

Caroline Hunt Rimmer, 1857, Randolph ; authority on 
figure drawing. 

Lucius Manlius Sargent, 1804, Boston; first lecturer 
on temperance. 

Charles Sprague Sargent, 1841, Boston; authority on 
the cultivation of trees. 

Eliza Scudder, 1821, Barnstable; author of some of 
the first state hymns and sonnets. 

Samuel Hubbard Scudder, 1837, Boston; authority 
on butterflies. 

Barnas Sears, 1802, Sandisville; theologian. 

Catherine M. Sedgwick, 1789, Stockbridge; novelist. 

Henry Wheeler Shaw, ''Josh Billings," 1818, Lanes- 
borough; humorist. 

Samuel F. Smith, 1808, Boston; author of our na- 
tional hymn, "America." 

James Russell Soley, 1850, Roxbury; writer and lec- 
turer on international law. 



268 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Francis Campbell Sparhawk, 1858, Amesbury; his- 
torian and geographer. 

Eichard Henry Stoddard, 1825, Hingham; poet and 
literary editor. 

Joseph Story, 1779, Marblehead ; judge and author. 

William Wetmore Story, 1819, Salem; writer and 
sculptor; medals from France and Italy; honorary de- 
grees from Oxford and Bologne. 

George Ticknor, 1791, Boston; professor and his- 
torian. 

Francis Henry Underwood, 1825, Enfield; United 
States consul at Glasgow and at Leith ; writer and pub- 
lisher. 

Henry Van Brunt, 1832, Boston ; architect. 

Herbert Dickinson Ward, 1861, Waltham; collabo- 
rated with his literary wife, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. 

Benjamin Ide Wheeler, 1854, Randolph; professor of 
Greek language and literature in the American School 
of Classical Studies, at Athens; later, president of the 
University of California. 

Adeline Button Train Whitney, 1824, Boston ; daugh- 
ter of Enoch Train, who founded a line of packet ships 
between Boston and Liverpool ; writer. 

Joseph Willard, 1798, Cambridge ; historical writer. 

Samuel Willard, 1775, Petersham; blind writer of 
hymns and text-books for schools. 

Alfred Mason Williams, 1840, Taunton ; journalist. 

William Winter, 1836, Gloucester ; critic and poet. 

Samuel Woodworth, 1785, Scituate; author of "The 
Old Oaken Bucket" and other poems. 



NOTES 



CHAPTER I 

^ Three bays indent the coast of Massachusetts : to 
the north, Massachusetts Bay, with the harbors of Bos- 
ton, Lynn, Marblehead, Salem, and Gloucester; then 
Cape Cod Bay, with the harbors of Duxbury, Plymouth, 
Barnstable, Wellfleet, and Provincetown ; to the south, 
Buzzard's Bay, with the harbors of Bedford, Fairhaven, 
and Wareham. 

2 Lief landed in the year 1000, or about that time. 
(Please remember that historians differ regarding cer- 
tain dates.) 

3 John Cabot (born 1450, died 1498). 

* Sebastian Cabot (born 1486, died 1557). 

^ In 1602, Gosnold landed on the coast of Massachu- 
setts. 

^ In 1604, Chevalier de Monts and Champlain arrived. 

^ Captain John Smith (born 1580, died 1631). Eead 
the interesting legend of Captain John Smith and Poca- 
hontas, of Virginia. 

CHAPTER II 

^ William Brewster (1560-1644). 

^ It is said that the prosperity of Leyden began to wane 
after the departure of the Puritans. It is now but half 
the size it was 200 years ago. 

* The Pilgrims landed, December 21, 1620. 

CHAPTER III 

^ William Bradford introduced the name ** PILGRIM. " 
^ When Peregrine White reached manhood, the court 
gave him two hundred acres of land in Bridgewater. 



270 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

^ They learned, later, that Captain John Smith had 
named the harbor PLYMOUTH. 

* At a convention of Pilgrim descendants, held in 
Plymouth, nearly a century and a half later, an attempt 
was made to carry Plymouth Rock into the town. Dur- 
ing its removal, it broke in two, and only the upper por- 
tion was carried into the place, where it still remains. 

CHAPTER IV 

* Edward Winslow is called the "First New England 
Statesman. ' ' 

CHAPTER V 

^ Edward Winslow was honored by Oliver Cromwell, 
Lord Protector of England, who appointed him to gov- 
ern an expedition to the Spanish West Indies. However, 
Winslow died on board ship and was buried at sea, with 
high military honors. 

2 Read "The Courtship of Miles Standish," by Henry 
Wadsworth Longfellow. 

CHAPTER VI 

^ John White is called the ' ' Founder of Massachu- 
setts. ' ' 

2 In 1628, John Endicott settled at Salem. 

^ Gloucester was first settled in 1626, and became a 
town in 1642 ; ship building began in 1643. 

* In 1630, John Winthrop's party arrived. John Win- 
throp (1588-1649). 

^ In 1621, the site of Boston was visited by some Pil- 
grim Fathers. 

CHAPTER VII 

^In 1630, "Lost Town" became Boston. 

* In 1625, Merry Mount was settled. 

3 In 1630, Medf ord was first settled ; building began in 
1634. 



NOTES 271 

* In 1634, Springfield was founded. The manufacture 
of arms began in Springfield, 1795. 

CHAPTER VIII 

^ February 22, 1631, first official thanksgiving. 
- 1629, first church in America, built at Salem. 
^ 1631, first ship built in America. 

* 1624, Edward Winslow imported the first cattle. 

® Salem, at one time, had fifty-nine privateers in com- 
mission, carrying four thousand men. 

CHAPTER IX 

^ 1637, Sjmod held in Cambridge. 

2 John Cotton (1585-1652). 

3 John Wilson (1588-1667). 

* This Congregational form of religion was established 
by law, in 1651. 

s Richard Mather (1596-1669). 

« Increase Mather (1639-1723) . Cotton Mather (1663- 
1728). 
^ John Eliot (1604-1690). 

* "When you go into the Boston Public Library, observe 
near the entrance a fine statue of Sir Harry Vane (1613- 
1662). 

" 1637, Ann Hutchinson was exiled. 

^° Roger Williams (1607-1684), who thoroughly 
learned the Indian language, said that Massachusetts 
really means "Blue Mountains." He founded Rhode 
Island in 1636. 

" Thomas Hooker (1586-1647) founded Connecticut 
in 1636. 

CHAPTER X 

^ 1637, Pequot War. E. H. Wendell, of New York, in 
1915, paid $300 to the Collectors' Club for an original 
edition of Major John Mason's "Pequot War," pub- 
lished in Boston, 1736. 

^ 1635, Public Latin School was opened in Boston. 



272 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

^ 1636, Harvard College was established. Other prom- 
inent colleges were founded as follows: Williams Col- 
lege, Williamstown, 1793; Amherst, 1821; Mount Hol- 
yoke, at South Hadley, the first school for the higher 
education of women, 1837 ; College of the Holy Cross, at 
Worcester, 1843 ; Tufts College, Medf ord, 1855 ; Boston 
College, 1863 ; Boston University, 1869 ; Wellesley Col- 
lege, for girls, 1870 ; Smith College, at Northampton, for 
girls 1875; Radcliffe College, at Cambridge, for girls, 
1879. 

* 1662, Sir Harry Vane was executed, in England. 
•^ 1639, first printing press was set up, at Harvard. 

CHAPTER XI 

^ 1641, Body of Liberties was adopted. 

2 1645, first colored slave was shipped back to Guinea. 

^ 1652, a mint was established at Boston. 

* 1652, arrival of the first great Scotch colony. 
^ 1656, first Quakers appeared. 

* 1657, a number of Quakers were hanged on Boston 
Common. 

CHAPTER XII 

* 1663, bridge built between Boston and Cambridge. 
2 1673, old Castle was destroyed. 

3 1675, King Philip 's War began. 

* 1676, death of King Philip. 

CHAPTER XIII 

^ 1684, charter was annulled. 
2 1686, Royal Governor Andros arrived. 
3 1689, first King's Chapel was built by Royal gov- 
ernors. 

* 1689, William III of Orange began to rule. 

CHAPTER XIV 

^ 1690, capture of Port Royal. 

» 1692, Phips was appointed Royal Governor. 



NOTES 273 

2 1690, first mill was established in Massachusetts. 
Cotton spinning, in which New England excels, began in 
Massachusetts, in 1640, when cotton was imported from 
the Barbadoes. 

CHAPTER XV 
^ 1692, witchcraft reached its height. 

CHAPTER XVI 

^ 1640, Haverhill was first settled. 
^ 1695, capture of Joseph Whittaker and Isaac Brad- 
ley. 

^ 1697, heroism of Hannah Dustin. 

* 1704, Deerfield Massacre, of French and Indian War. 

CHAPTER XVII 

^ Massachusetts further honored Pepperell by naming 
a town for him. Louisburg Square, on Beacon Hill, 
Boston, was named in honor of the victory at Louisburg 
in 1745. 

^ 1704, Boston News Letter, first newspaper, was pub- 
lished. 

3 1712, sperm whale fishing began ; 1713, first schooner ; 
1724, first insurance office opened ; 1730, Old South Meet- 
ing House was built; 1749, New King's Chapel; 1755, 
clover introduced in farming ; 1760, paper making began 
in Milton. 

CHAPTER XVIII 

^ Massachusetts was independent of England for one 
hundred and thirty-five years. 

2 Royal Governor Hutchinson was a descendant of 
Ann Hutchinson, the exile. 

2 1765, The Stamp Act. 

* James Otis (1725-1783). 

«* Samuel Adams (1722-1803). 

« John Adams (1735-1826). 

' 1765, Townshend Revenue Acts. 



274 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 

CHAPTER XIX 

^ 1766, English soldiers were stationed in Boston. 
2 1770, March 5, Boston Massacre. 

CHAPTER XX 

^ 1773, December 16, Boston Tea Party. Tea was first 
advertised, in 1714 ; coffee, in 1770. 

2 1774, last Royal Governor, Thomas Gage. 

3 1871, great Boston Fire ; 1914, great Salem Fire. 

* 1774, Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. 

CHAPTER XXI 

* 1774, first armed resistance against the King's Army, 
at Salem. 

2 See Longfellow's poem, "Evangeline." 

3 1774, Governor Gage sacked the Old Powder House, 
at Somerville. 

CHAPTER XXII 

^ Colonel Lee took cold from exposure, and died soon 
after. 

2 Paul Revere (1735-1818) . 

CHAPTER XXIII 
^ April 19, 1775, Battles of Lexington and Concord. 

CHAPTER XXIV 

1 William Heath (1737-1814). 
^ArtemasWard (1727-1800). 
' William Prescott (1726-1795). 
Joseph Warren (1741-1775). 

* John Glover (1732-1797). 

» Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814). 
•Israel Putnam (1718-1790). 



NOTES 275 



CHAPTER XXV 

^ June 17, 1775, Battle of Bunker Hill. As nearly as 
can be estimated, one thousand and fifty-four British 
were killed and wounded, including one hundred and 
fifty-seven officers. The Provincials suffered four hun- 
dred and forty-nine killed and wounded. 

^ 1794, first Bunker Hill Monument was erected. First 
stone of the present monument was laid in 1825; last 
stone, 1842. 

CHAPTER XXVI 

^ July 3, 1775, General Washington took command of 
the Continental Army. 

CHAPTER XXVII 

^ March 17, 1776, the British evacuated Boston. 

^July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence was 
adopted at Philadelphia. 

^ 1780, Worcester introduced machinery for spinning 
and weaving cotton. 

* 1780, John Hancock was made governor of the new 
state of Massachusetts. 

CHAPTER XXVIII 

* Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). 

CHAPTER XXIX 

^ Benjamin Thompson, "Lord Rumford" (1753-1814). 
2Rufus Putnam (1738-1824). The Ohio Mayflower 
landed at Marietta, April 7, 1788. 

CHAPTER XXX 

* Shays' Rebellion. 

* Cotton Tufts (1734-1815). 

* 1788, Federal Constitution was finally accepted. 



276 STORY OF MASSACHUSETTS 



CHAPTER XXXI 

^In 1796, John Adams was elected President of the 
United States. 

2 War of 1812. 

^1820, Maine became a separate state. Cotton was 
first woven by machinery in Beverly, in 1787 ; the manu- 
facture of duck, linen, and other fabrics began in 1789 ; 
in 1790, nail machines were introduced at Amesbury. 
The first navigable canals in the Union were opened at 
Montague and South Hadley, in 1792 ; gas light was first 
demonstrated in Boston, in 1815 ; the first steamboat in 
Boston harbor went to Nahant and back, in 1826. 

* John Quincy Adams (1767-1848). In 1826, he was 
elected President of the United States. 

= Daniel Webster (1782-1852). 



CHAPTER XXXII 

iRufus Choate (1799-1859). 

2 Horace Mann (1796-1859). 

^ 1835, John Pierpont was mobbed. 

* 1837, first State Board of Education. 

■* Amos Lawrence (1786-1852). 

« George Peabody (1795-1869). 

CHAPTER XXXIII 

^ 1846, Massachusetts opposed the policy of the Mex- 
ican War. 

2 1833, the first steam railway trains ran between Bos- 
ton and Newton, nine miles away; 1839, Harnden's Ex- 
press started between Boston and New York; 1840, 
Adams Express Company was established; 1840, the 
Unicorn, the first steam packet from England, landed in 
Boston; the same year, envelopes for letters came into 
use; 1849, Adams Express Company brought the first 
gold from California to Boston; it weighed fifteen 
pounds, and was displayed in a Washington Street win- 



NOTES 277 

dow. The Boston Public Library was inaugurated in 
1855. 

^ 1855, organization of the Republican party. 

* Charles Sumner (1811-1874). 

^ 1841, Brook Farm was established. William Henry 
Channing (1810-1884). 

« Edward Everett (1794-1865). 

' Phillips Brooks (1835-1893). 

« Theodore Parker (1810-1860). 

» 1863, Samuel Gridley Howe organized the first State 
Board of Charity in America. 

^"William Lloyd Garrison (1807-1879). 

11 Wendell Phillips (1811-1884). 

12 William Ellery Channing (1780-1842). 
"Civil War (1861-1865). 

"John Albion Andrew (1818-1867). 
1^ Nathaniel P. Banks (1816-1894). 
"William Francis Bartlett (1840-1876). 
" Charles Devens (1820-1891). 
18 1898, Spanish War. 

CHAPTER XXXIV 

1 Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872). 

2 First electric telegraph message, May 24, 1844. 
' Alexander Graham Bell, born in 1847. 

* First clear speech made by telephone, March 10, 
1876. 

^ 1876, Philadelphia Exposition. 

* Bell tablets unveiled in Boston, March 13, 1916. 
'Cyrus West Field (1819-1892) ; laid the first cable 

across the Atlantic Ocean in 1858. 

CHAPTER XXXV 

lEli Whitney (1765-1825); invented cotton gin in 
1793. 

2 1826, first railway in the United States. 

^ November 9, 1875, the first train passed through the 
Hoosac Tunnel. 



278 STOEY OF MASSACHUSETTS 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

^ 1741, the passengers of the Seaflower appeared in 
Boston harbor. 

2 1736-1738, ten shiploads of Irish people arrived. 

5 1717, Captain Robert Temple and his party landed 
at Boston. 

*1650, Rev. Gabriel Druillettes came to Boston; he 
was the first Catholic in the city, and was a noted mis- 
sionary among the Indians, 

^ 1727, an old barn was turned into the first Irish 
Presbyterian church. 

« 1813, the first mill in the world to combine all opera- 
tions of converting raw cotton into finished cloth was 
established at Waltham. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

^ Concord grapes introduced in 1855, by Ephraim 
Bull. 

2 Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862). 

3 Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864). 

* Elizabeth Peabody is said to have been the first kin- 
dergarten teacher as well as a writer of ability. 
» Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882). 
"Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). 
^ James Russell Lowell (1819-1891). 
® Thomas Wentworth Higginson, born in 1823. 
» Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894). 
i» William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878). 
"William Hickling Prescott (1796-1859). 
" Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909). 
" Charles Dudley Warner (1827-1900). 
"John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892). 
" Lucy Larcom (1826-1893). 

CHAPTER XXXVIII 

*1638, earthquake shocks in Boston; five more in 
1669. 



NOTES 279 

^1725, complaints around Boston because of bears, 
wolves, and rattlesnakes. 

^ 1793, yellow fever ; 1832, invasion of Asiatic cholera. 

* 1872, property destroyed amounting to $100,000,000. 
^ 1630, first court held in Boston. 

® 1634, work on the old Castle began. First store also 
was opened. 

^ 1728, first Paper Trust. 

* 1650, slavery began in Boston. 

* 1630, first commercial traveler. 

^** 1660, Granary Burial Ground was opened. 
^^ 1670, first Baptist Meeting House. Baptist Society, 
in 1665, was organized at Charlestown. 
^2 1712, Old Corner Bookstore was established. 
^^ 1669, first coach. 
^* 1712, first warehouse. 
1=^ 1784, first New England bank. 
" 1855, first baby show. 
^^ 1781, Massachusetts Historical Society. 
^* 1861, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 
^^ 1771, Massachusetts Medical Society. 
2« 1815, Handel and Haydn Society. 
^^ 1880, Quarter-millennium Celebration. 



INDEX 



Giving the name of each person mentioned in the story, and 
the folio of the page on which the name first appears. 



A 



Abbott, Henry Larcom, 229 
Adams, Hannah, 231 
Adams, John, 112 
Adams, John Quincy, 195 
Adams, Julius Walker, 228 
Adams, Matthew. 178 
Adams, Samuel, 112 
Agassiz, Elizabeth Gary, 231 
Agassiz, Louis, 242 
Alcott, Amos Bronson, 208 
Alcott, Louisa May, 239 
Alden, John, 28 
Alden, Sarah, 29 
Alderman, the Indian, 76 
Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 244 
Allerton, Isaac, 18 
Allerton, John, 35 
Allerton, IMary, 18 
Alvord, Elijah, 228 
Ames, John, 227 
Andrew, John Albion, 206 
Andros, Royal Governor, 78 
Anne, Queen, 99 
Appleseed, Johnny, 204 
Appleton, Frances Elizabeth, 

245 
Argyle, Duke of, 245 
Argyle, Duchess of, 245 
Attucks, Cri^jpus, 118 
Auchmuty, Robert, 236 
Austin, Anne, 66 



B 



Babbitt, Isaac, 226 

Ballou, Maturin Murray, 230 



Banks, Nathaniel P., 206 
Barrett, Colonel, 145 
Barrett, Mistress, 146 
Bartlett, William Francis, 212 
Barton, Clara, 231 
Beard, Thomas, 226 
Beers, Captain, 74 
Belcher, Governor, 108 
Bell, Alexander Graham, 218 
Bellamy, Edward, 231 
Bellingham, Richard, 90 
Bentley, Josiah, 138 
Bernhard, Thomas, 131 
Billington, John, 18 
Blackler, William, 169 
Blackstone, William, 35 
Blake, Francis I, 220 
Bl an chard, Luther, 146 
Boies, James, 237 
Bowdoin, James, 154 
Bowman, Thaddeus, 143 
Bradford, Dorothy, 16 
Bradford, William, 16 
Bradley, Isaac, 95 
Bradstreet, Governor, 63 
Bramin, Benjamin, 229 
Brewster, William, 10 
Brooks, John, 159 
Brooks, Phillips, 209 
Brownings, The, 241 
Bryant, William Cullen, 248 
Buchanan, President, 221 
Buckingham, Earl of, 27 
Burden, Anne, 67 
Burgoyne, General, 161 
Burleigh, Charles, 225 
Burroughs, George, 92 
Butler, B. F., 206 



281 



282 



INDEX 



Butterick, Ebenezer, 226 
Butterick, John, 146 



Cabot, John, 4 

Cabot, Sebastian, 5 

Caldwell, James, 118 

Campbell, James, 230 

Canonicus, 24 

Carlisle, Earl of, 63 

Carlyle, Thomas, 243 

Carr, Patrick, 119 

Carver, John, 11 

Carver, Mistress, 11 

Carver, Master, 149 

Chaffee, Edward, 228 

Champlain, 7 

Channing, Francis Allston, 228 

Channing, William Ellery, 210 

Channing, William Henry, 208 

Chapman, Jonathan, 204 

Charles I, 55 

Charles II, 62 

Child, Lydia Maria, 231 

Chilton, Mary, 16 

Choate, Rufus, 199 

Church, Captain, 77 

Clarke, Jonas, 134 

Clarke, Mary, 68 

Clinton, General, 161 

Colburn, Jeremiah, 229 

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 243 

Conant, James, 227 

Conant, Roger, 33 

Coogan ( or Coggan ) , John, 255 

Copley, John Singleton, 236 

Copley, Richard, 236 

Copley, Mrs. Richard, 236 

Corey, Giles, 92 

Corey, Martha, 92 

Cotton, John, 52 

Crackston, John, 18 

Craigie, Dame, 244 

Cromwell, Oliver, 61 

Gushing, Caleb, 206 

Gushing, Thomas, 129 



Dalrymple, Colonel, 120 
Dana, Charles A., 209 
Davis, Captain, 146 
Dawes, William, 137 
Daye, Stephen, 231 
Dearborn, patriot, 156 
Dennison, Aaron L., 226 
Devens, Charles, 212 
Dexter, Timothy, 200 
Dickens, Charles, 243 
Dixon, Joseph, 226 
Doten, Edward, 18 
Downing, Anne, 63 
DoAvning, Sir George, 63 
Downing, Lucy, 59 
Drown, Shem, 255 
Dudley, Thomas, 50 
Dunster, Henry, 62 
Dustin, Hannah, 97 
Dustin, Mr., 97 
Dwight, Nathaniel, 230 
Dyer, Mary, 67 



Eaton, Francis, 18 
Edwards, Oliver, 226 
Eliot, John, 54 
Elizabeth, Queen, 7 
Ellsworth, Elizabeth, 216 
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 239 
Endicott, John, 33 
English, Thomas, 18 
Eric the Red, 2 
Ericson, Lief, 2 
Ericson, Thorwald, 3 
Estaing, Count d', 192 
Eustis, William, 152 
Everett, Edward, 209 



Faneuil, Andrew, 108 
Faneuil, Peter, 255 
Felt, John, 131 
Ferdinand of Spain, 5 
Field, Cyrus West, 221 
Fisher, Mary, 66 



INDEX 



283 



Fletcher, Moses, 18 
Folger, Abiah, 177 
Foster, Isaac, 167 
Foster, John, 130 
Frankland, Sir Henry, 113 
Franklin, Benjamin, 177 
Franklin, James, 178 
Franklin, Josiah, 177 
Fuller, Edward, 18 
Fuller, Samuel, 29 
Fulton, Robert, 224 



Gage, Thomas, 126 
Gardiner, Richard, 18 
Gardner, Roy, 238 
Garrison, William Lloyd, 209 
George III, 133 
Gerry, Elbridge, 138 
Glover, " Goody," 91 
Glover, the printer, 62 
Glover, Mrs., 62 
Glover, John, 153 
Goffe, William, 76 
Goldfinch, Captain, 117 
Goodman, John, 18 
Goodwin, John, 90 
Gosnold, Bartholomew, 5 
Gray, Samuel, 118 
Green, Nathanael, 223 
Green, Mrs. Nathanael, 223 
Greenough, Horatio, 163 
Gridley, Samuel, 159 



Hager, a maid, 99 
Hale, Edward Everett, 249 
Hale, Mrs., 93 
Hale, Nathan, 249 
Hale, Robert, 47 
Hancock, John, 119 
Hancock, Lydia, 134 
Hannan, John, 227 
Harmon, John, 226 
Harvard, John, 61 
Hastings, Farmer, 151 
Hawthorne, Julian, 242 
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 240 



Hawthorne, Rose, 242 
Hayes, President, 213 
Hayward, James, 147 
Heath, William, 152 
Hedge, Frederic Henry, 209 
Henry VII, 4 
Henshaw, Samuel, 119 
Hewes of Gloucester, 33 
Hibbens, Magistrate, 89 
Hibbens, Mrs. 90 
Higginson, Francis, 33 
Higginson, Henry Lee, 261 
Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 

246 
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 242 
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Junior, 

247 
Hooker, Thomas, 57 
Hopkins, Stephen, 22 
Horton, Elizabeth, 68 
Hosmer, Abner, 146 
Howard, Edward, 226 
Howe, Elias, 227 
Howe, Major-General, 162 
Howe, Samuel Gridley, 209 
Howells, William Dean, 244 
Rowland, John, 29 
Hubbard, William, 230 
Hull, John, 65 
Hutchinson, Ann, 55 
Hutchinson, Royal Governor, 

110 

I 

Irving, Washington, 249 

J 

Jackson, Amelia Lee. 247 
Jackson, Charles, 237 
Jackson, Charles Loring, 229 
Jackson, James, 237 
Jackson, Lydia, 243 
Jackson, Patrick Tracy, 237 
James T, 9 

Jarvis, James Jackson, 230 
Johnson, Isaac, 36 
Johnson, Lady Arabella, 36 
Johnson, Louisa Catherine, 195 



284 



INDEX 



Jones, Colonel, 212 
Jones, Margaret, 89 
Jones, Mrs. Thomas, 141 



Keith, Sir William, 180 
Kleayne, Captain, 257 
Knight, Sarah Kemble, 178 
Knox, Henry, 117 



Lafayette, General, 164 
Lamson, Mary Swift, 231 
Langdon, President, 158 
Larcom, Lucy, 251 
Lathrop, Captain, 75 
Lathrop, George Parsons, 242 
Lawrence, Amos, 201 
Lawrence, Captain, 194 
Lee, Jeremiah, 138 
Lee, Jesse, 259 

Le Roy, Caroline Bayard, 197 
Leslie, Colonel, 130 
Lincoln, Abraham, 212 
Lincoln, Benjamin, 189 
Linzee, Captain, 160 
Lister, Edward, 18 
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 

136 
Longfellow, Stephen, 136 
Lothrop, Rev. Mr., 56 
Love joy, Elijah P., 210 
Lovell, John, 174 
Lowell, Hancock's clerk, 140 
Lowell, Francis C, 237 
Lowell, James Russell, 242 
Lowell, Percival, 229 
Lyman, Theodore, 229 
Lyndhurst, Lord, 236 

M 

Madison, James, 153 
Malcolm, Daniel, 234 
Mallet, John, 132 
Manley, John, 169 
Mann, Horace, 199 
Martin, Christopher, 18 



Mary, Queen of Scots, 9 
Mason, Captain, 60 
Massasoit, 20 
Mather, Cotton, 54 
Mather, Increase, 54 
Mather, Mrs. Increase, 54 
Mather, Richard, 53 
Maverick, Samuel, 119 
Maximilian, Prince, 184 
Melville, David, 228 
Mifflin, Thomas, 172 
Minot, Henry Davis, 228 
Mitchell, Charles, 227 
Mitchell, Maria, 229 
Molineaux, William, 119 
Montcalm, Marquis de, 94 
Monts, Chevalier de, 7 
Moody, Paul, 237 
Morpeth, Viscount, 63 
Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, 

214 
Morton, Thomas, 41 
Morton, William G. T., 229 
Moseley, Captain, 75 
Mugford, James, 169 
Mullens, Priscilla, 28 
Munroe, William, 143 

N 

Newhouse, Thomas, 68 
Nightingale, Florence, 241 
Nourse, Rebecca, 92 
Noyes, Arthur A., 229 
Noyes, Rev. Mr., 86 



Obbatinewat, 35 

Oceanus, 14 

Oliver, Andrew, 113 

O'Reilly, John Boyle, 236 

Orne, Azor, 138 

Otis, Harrison Gray, 149 

Otis, James, ill 



Page, Charles G., 228 
.Page, Jeremiah, 136 



INDEX 



285 



Page, Mrs. Jeremiah", 136 
Paine, Robert Treat, 129 
Parker, John, 143 
Parker, Theodore, 209 
Parris, Elizabeth, 91 
Parris, Samuel, 91 
Parsons, Eli, 190 
Parsons, " Goody," 44 
Peabody, Dr.. 240 
Peabody, Elizabeth, 240 
Peabody, George, 202 
Peabody, Mary, 240 
Peabody, Sophia, 240 
Pearce, Captain, 47 
Pearson, Theodore, 227 
Pelham, Henry, 236 
Pelham, Peter, 236 
Pepperell, William, 103 
Percy, Lord Hugh, 129 
Perkins, Angier March, 227 
Perkins, Jacob, 227 
Perkins, John, 47 
Perkins, Loftus, 227 
Phelps, Abner. 224 
Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart, 231 
Philip, King, 70 
Phillips, Alonzo D., 226 
Phillips, John, 258 
Phillips, Wendell, 210 
Phillips, William, 119 
Phips, Sir William, 83 
Phips, Ladv, 84 

Pickering, Edward Charles, 228 
Pierce, Franklin, 242 
Pierpont, John, 199 
Pitcairn, Major, 143 
Pitcher, Molly, 168 
Pollard, Anne, 36 
Pomerov, Seth, 160 
Poole, William Frederick, 230 
Poore, Ben Perley, 230 
Pope, Hannah, 154 
Porter, General, 175 
Potter, Judge, 245 
Potter, Mary Storer, 245 
Prang, Louis, 230 
Prescott, Samuel, 139 
Prescott, William, 153 
Prescott, William Hickling, 160 
Preston, Captain, 117 



Priest, Gregory, 18 
Pring, Martin, 6 
Proctor, John, 91 
Proctor, Mrs. John, 91 
Putnam, Israel, 154 
Putnam, Rufus. 170 
Pyncheon, William, 37 

Q 

Quincy, Dorothy, 134 
Quiney, Josiah, 121 

R 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 5 
Randolph, Edmund, 72 
Read, Miss, 179 
Reed, Colonel, 159 
Revere, Paul, 125 
Richardson, Rose, 260 
Richardson, Thomas, 138 
Ripley, George, 208 
Rogers, Thomas, 18 
Rogers, William B., 261 
Rolfe, Benjamin, 99 
Rolfe, Mrs. Benjamin, 99 
Rolfe, Madam, 183 
Rouville, Hertel de, 99 
Rumford, Count, 185 

S 

Saltonstall, Sir Richard, 37 
Samoset, 20 
Sampson, Samuel, 153 
Sassaman, John, 73 
Schofield, John, 227 
Scott, Katherine, 68 
Scottaw, Joshua, 260 
Sewall, Judge, 103 
Shavs, Daniel, 188 
Shepard, William, 153 
Sherman, Widow, 257 
Shirley, William, 103 
Smith' Abigail. 194 
Smith. Colonel, 137 
Smith, Jeremiah, 256 
Smith, John, 7 
Snider, Christopher, 119 



286 



INDEX 



Soule, George, 18 

Squanto, 19 

Standish, Alexander, 29 

Standish, Barbara, 29 

Standish, Miles, 11 

Standish, Rose, 21 

Stark, John, 160 

Stedman, Edmund Clarence, 

244 
Stoddard, Captain, 100 
Story, George, 257 
Story, William, 113 
Stoughton, Isaac, 226 
Stowell, Abel, 227 
Sullivan, James, 237 
Sumner, Charles, 206 
Sumner, Charles Pinckney, 207 
Swift, Dean, 237 
Symmes, Pastor, 56 



Taylor, Grace, 197 
Temple, Robert, 233 
Tennyson, Alfred, 243 
Thackeray, William Makepeace, 

243 
Thatcher, of Weymouth, 65 
Thomas, General, 159 
Thompson, Benjamin, 183 
Thoreau, Henry David, 239 
Tilley, Edward, 18 
Tilley, John, 18 
Tinker, Thomas, 18 
Tisquantum, 19 
Tituba, 91 

Townshend, Charles, 114 
Trowbridge, John, 229 
Trowbri<ige, William F., 226 
Tucker, Ellen Louisa, 243 
Tucker, Samuel, 169 
Tudor, Frederick, 228 
Tufts, Cotton, 190 
Turner, John, 18 



tJpsal, Nicholas, 66 
Usher, Hezekiab, 92 



Vane, Sir Harry, 55 
Vassall, John, 244 
Vaughan, William, 104 
Victoria, Queen, 197 



W 

Wadsworth, Peleg, 136 
Wadsworth, Zilpah, 136 
Walker, Joseph Henry, 229 
Ward, Artemas, 152 
Ward, John, 95 
Warner, Charles Dudley, 250 
Warren, John C, 163 
Warren, Joseph, 137 
Warren, Mary, 91 
Warren, Sir Peter, 104 
Warren, Richard, 18 
Washington, George, 38 
Washington, Martha, 244 
Watson, Thomas A., 219 
Webster, Daniel, 196 
Webster, Ezekiel, 196 
Went worth. Governor, 183 
Weston, Thomas, 31 
White, John, 32 
White, Peregrine, 14 
White, Susanna, 27 
W^hitefield, George, 258 
Whitney, Asa, 228 
Whitney, Eli, 223 
Whittaker, Joseph, 95 
Whittemore, Samuel, 148 
Whittier, Elizabeth, 251 
Whittier, John Greenleaf, 242 
Willard, Samuel, 163, 226 
William III, of Orange, 79 
Williams, Ephraim, 45 
Williams, Eunice, 101 
Williams, John J., 237 
Williams, Pastor, 100 
Williams, Mrs., 100 
Williams, Roger, 47 
Williams, Stephen, 101 
Williams, Thomas, 18 
Wilson, George, 68 
Wilson, Henry, 206 



INDEX 287 

Wilson, John, 53 Wolfe, General James, 94 

Winslow, Edward, 11 WoUaston, Captain, 41 

Winslow, Mrs. Edward, 11 Wordsworth, William, 243 

Winslow, Jack, 79 Wyman, Amos, 148 

Winslow, John, 28 Wynslow, Walter de, 27 

Winslow, General John, 132 

Winthrop, John, 34 Y 

Winthrop, Mrs. John, 46 

Wolcott, Roger, 104 York, Archbishop of, 10 











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